The Rising of The Four Heroes
by Pretty Lazy
Summary: (AU) Naofumi, Ren, Itsuki, and Motoyasu were once apartment roommates, but they find themselves all summoned to a land called Melromarc, being heeded as the Four Cardinal Heroes. Excited to fulfill their roles, it soon became clear that not everything was what it seemed, discovering that this fantasy dream alongside friends was actually a crumbling nightmare in disguise.
1. Foreword with Pretty Lazy

**)**—**(\ Synopsis /)|**—**(**

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(Chapter 1) Naofumi, Ren, Itsuki, and Motoyasu were once apartment roommates, but they find themselves all summoned to a land called Melromarc, being heeded as the Four Cardinal Heroes. Excited to fulfill their roles, it soon became clear that not everything was what it seemed, discovering that this fantasy dream alongside friends was actually a crumbling nightmare in disguise.

(Chapter 2) [N/A]

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**)**—**(\ About the Fic /)|**—**(**

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The concept of the story began as 'what if the Cardinal Heroes all came from the same world and were already friends with one another'.

However, that quickly started to become a generic shounen fanfic where the power of friendship trumps all where the trial only results in backfiring on Malty. As a wise, but very drunk, man said, "the power of friendship is bullshit." Despite wanting friendship to be one of the defining themes of this story, I wasn't really interesting in pursuing it to the point where it enables steamrolling.

That's why I decided to take a few liabilities to make an AU of the story, to be able to give it the content it needs to be interesting. In other words, I'm heading on an original plot using the pieces given to me while adding in original characters where I see fit. I will have a disclaimer that I'm not the best when it comes to canonical details and I'll definitely handwave some of them, alongside alternating some aspects to bring together a better narrative flow. Of course, I'm only hoping for that.

Before you start reading, I would like to mention that this is a multi-protagonist story.

This means that all of the Cardinal Heroes are the main protagonists, meaning that I have to deal with balancing their perspectives with one another. In other words, Naofumi is not the central character, but _a_ central character right out from the floodgates alongside Ren, Motoyasu, and Itsuki. However, this means that the story length is going to be rather long with four characters to keep up with, added with my... uhm, poor pacing skills. Look, I'm trying my best, okay?

Please enjoy regardless, The Rising of the Four Heroes!

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**)**—**(\ Recommendations /)|**—**(**

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**Hope of the Shield Hero  
**_AllenBlaster_

This story is one that really caught my eye. Not because it was a good story that pushed the relationship between Naofumi and Raphtalia, but it's a good story that was actually doing something great with the other Cardinal Heroes. I really like it when authors remember that they can use the other Cardinal Heroes rather than just plot devices to make Naofumi or an OC strictly look better. Ironically enough, despite its name, I'm more interested in the storylines that AllenBlaster has built for the other heroes. I would say that I highly recommend the story, but chances are, you're already favorited, followed, or read it.

Congrats on taking the top-ranked Shield Hero non-crossover fanfic by the way.

**Ambition of the Red Princess  
**_Qinlongfei_

One of my favourite fics on this fandom, this one is a really good read that evolves the land of Shield Hero, something that was never touched on (or if so, then barely) in the original canon and the writing is indeed something to aspire to write like. In addition, I love how the focused character of Malty is developed in the story, so please take a look if it suits your fancy!

**Four Heroes  
**_Adam Rook_

He's been writing his own take on the idea where the four heroes originally knew each other before they were summoned. I highly recommend you check it out. I will have to say that the both of us grab on different takes of each character, so it is very worth reading if you like this idea of the "Friendship AU". Without much spoilers, I will say that our genre tags do matter in seeing how we tackle the idea differently, but we certainly take up different reins despite similar ideas. I guess that's the beauty of creative writing!

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**)**—**(\ Discord Server Plug /)|**—**(**

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Want a place to talk about Shield Hero, or simply, a place to hang out and chill? This discord-partnered server might be the place for you and considering how you're here, reading fanfictions for Shield Hero, there's a particular channel you might want to swing by and say hello to. If you're someone who frequents many of the stories here on FFN, you might see some familiar faces! _Erhm, usernames._

Free feel to talk about fanfics there, whether existing ones or hypothetical ones, and maybe learn a new thing or two about the entire universe of Shield Hero as a whole. Don't be shy! New faces are always welcomed in this over 10k members server!

_Please help me, one of the discord moderator had a glock to my head and—_

I-I mean, join the Shield Hero Discord today!

You can find a link on the r/ShieldBro subreddit or simply type in "Shield Hero Discord" on Google!

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**)**—**(\ Shield Hero Season 2 /)|**—**(**

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Well, Rising of the Shield Hero's anime has its scheduled release for Season 2.

From what I gathered, it'll drop early 2021 in line with the winter anime season and it'll cover the Spirit Tortoise Arc. Hopefully, there would be a bit more to that since it rolls right into the next arc without any stopping.

I'll keep this disclaimer here until the first few episodes drop.


	2. Chapter 1-01 : Unusual Royal Summoning

)—|(\IV/)|—(

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"COME BACK HERE, YOU ASSHOLES!"

One scream roared deep within the narrow tunnel.

"Shit, shit, shit! They noticed!"

"Yeah, I know that! Just shut up and follow my orders!"

Their footsteps darted down the cavern and into an open clearing with a giant underground lake in the middle. There was a pathway circling around it and led downwards to another tunnel, as the swordsman quickly beckoned the archer to follow him on the singular escape route. He ran off ahead, leading the way without hesitating.

Making a glance behind him, the archer instantly regretted it. He leapt out from the exit they came from and a giant fireball shot out like a cannonball, exploding against the opposite wall. It almost fried his outfit as he rolled over onto his feet and chased after his ally.

"Why the hell did you think this was a good idea!?"

"Why the hell _DO YOU KEEP TALKING_!?"

The swordsman kept his perception resting on his shoulder, taking a second's worth to check every so often as he noticed the trailing group, probably ten or eleven people, emerge from the tunnel.

One of the armoured knights pointed directly to them, filled with a loud anger.

"GET THEM!"

Two spells were cast from the mages as they chanted their spells in rapid succession. A set of fireballs shot outwards as the swordsman grunted, tightening the grip on his sword.

"_Robin Hood_! Left!"

"I got it!"

The archer ignited his arrow in a light and sidestepped to aim while advancing, a trick that the swordsman himself was using as he sheathed his sword in a similar light.

"[Disintegration Shot]!" "[Demon Wave]!"

The skills shot outwards as a piercing arrow and an arcing projectile and collided with the fireballs over the lake, clouding the vision on both sides. Both of the escapists caught their feet and continued running without delay.

"Nice going!" the swordsman applauded. "Keep this up and we're home free!"

"I'm running as fast as I can over here!" the archer shouted back. "Don't rush—_Ah, shit_!"

An arrow slipped through the smoke cloud and landed right into the archer's shoulder, causing him to trip over from the sudden flank. The swordsman acted immediately; he dashed backwards and spun his sword, expertly slicing the five following arrows into particles meant to hit his friend.

With the onslaught's end, he slewed to his side at the incoming group and sparked his sword quickly.

"[Demon Wave]!" he shouted, sending the projectile into the ground before them. They were slowed for a bit, but not for long.

He spun around to his partner and grabbed the planted arrow; he tugged it out with a single yank and broke the arrow into glass-like pieces. The swordsman kept his surroundings unaverted, noticing that the horde had been drawing closer to them, breaking through the smoke.

"Get up or I'm leaving you behind!"

Rolling his shoulder and standing on his feet, the archer gritted his teeth. "How the hell did that guy even get the shot!?" He glanced not at his injury, but at the direction of the arrows. "There was a visual barrier!"

"Never mind _that_!" He pushed his ally's back for an aggressive boost. "Just run!"

There was no less than four to five seconds between the two groups as the duo picked speed once again. However, the two mages were still casting their abilities and blasting through using commands from their leader, hot on their tracks.

The visual barrier was still up, but they were still firing like there was no tomorrow. Each spell missed, but served as a big inconvenience for them. Fireballs hit the top of the cavern, sending down rocks they would have to avoid. Fireballs hit the pathway in front of them, forcing them to jump through the flames and risk being burnt.

Each time, they slowed down a bit until the gap was to a good distance in the leader's eyes. Their chasing silver-armoured mercenary threw his broadsword at the back at the duo.

The swordsman noticed, dodging out of the way, but it connected with the curved wall in front of them. Against the blade's handle, the swordsman realized there was an explosive tag on it. He grabbed his friend's collar and without another word, he threw the both of them down to a slide.

The consumable went off, covering their vision in the residue, but the swordsman stabbed the ground to make a forced stop and kicked backwards towards the group, running towards the wall diagonally. He leapt up from the smoke, bounced off the wall, and kicked the person who foolishly threw their sword into the lake.

Those enemies were definitely caught off guard and didn't realize it until their leader plopped against the water's surface.

"One down!"

"No, Boss! You'll pay for this, Black Swordsman!"

One of the lackeys jumped and slashed down on his shoulder, but he darted to the left and smashed the enemy into the wall. He swung his sword around like a bat and scored a homerun on the dazed man's chest plate, knocking him into someone else.

His sword sparked a light as he swung it downwards in front. "[Demon Wave]!" The projected arc launched into the two fallen lackeys and blasted them further away, causing the rest to dodge their flying bodies.

"Three down! Who's next!?"

The swordsman noticed the dust cloud over the lake clearing up and realized the mages were in the middle of casting another spell.

However, he wasn't the one to deal with them. He scoffed.

"Robin Hood."

Two arrows launched out and smacked into the mages' heads, making them fall down as the archer was forced to take ranged strikes.

A light shimmered from the distance as he quickly fired off three arrows, but the swordsman's friend was already on the case, shooting three arrows of his own and breaking them in midair.

"W-What!? Impossible!"

"Sorry, you're gonna have to try better than that!" Behind the swordsman, Robin Hood smirked. He hadn't even sat up from the slide; he shot all five arrows lying down. "I don't need cheats to hit my targets!"

The swordsman slapped his forehead quietly.

"_It's a skill_," he sighed, "for crying out—_you know what, I don't even care anymore_."

Switching off his exasperation, the swordsman readied his sword to take on the remaining group. He didn't want to increase his notoriety with his friend within his party, but there was no other way out of the situation now. It wasn't as if his concern had been that he was scared of them; if anything, they were scared of him—the player that consecutively took out three players, even if it was temporary.

"Let's get this over with. Robin Hood, cover me!"

The archer brought himself on his knee, locking down his sights. "I got your back, Reaki!"

The swordsman ran forwards into the group of players with no sign of faltering.

"Prepare yourselves!"

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**)**—**(\**IV**| Chapter 1-01 |**IV**/)|**—**(  
)\\( The Unusual Royal Summoning )/(**

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"... _I don't think I like virtual reality_."

"Be glad I didn't actually leave you behind when they got back-up."

"I still died."

"And I wiped them all out."

"Yeah, but did you see how they got to me!? It was so unfair!"

"It's part of the game, Itsuki."

They sat together around the dining table, eating a casual meal that was left out by one of their roommates. It was nothing much, consisting of a simple stir fry, but the two teenagers munched on it happily.

_Almost happily_.

"I hate _Brave Star Online,_" Itsuki announced, mulling in his thoughts. "I hate it so _damn _much. I find it a wonder how you're so addicted to that terrible game, Ren."

"Don't call it a terrible game," Ren grunted, as he slammed his hand on the table. His expression didn't move an inch, left on a stern expression. "Just because you can't understand the greatness that is virtual reality, it doesn't automatically make it a terrible game. It's going to be the pioneer to the new generation of gaming and you'll be left in the dust with your plebeian console controllers."

"No, here's the thing," Itsuki dropped his bowl on the table and started hand-gesturing. "Virtual reality doesn't seem bad, minus the fact that I got motion sickness from it by the end. I think my head is still twirling here, but I digress."

"Then what's the problem?"

Ren thought he would entertain Itsuki for a bit. He probably had the general idea of why Itsuki hated _Brave Star Online_ anyways, so it was merely a matter of having the answers facedown on the field. He sipped his water, ready to be activating his rebuttal cards.

"Too many mechanics."

"Learn it and get good."

"Too many dungeons that serve no purpose."

"Clear them and get stronger."

"System's all over the place with strengthening methods."

"Study them and use them properly."

Itsuki's hands slammed against the table in his frustration.

"Okay, _smartass_. If you got an answer for all of those, you should be able to answer this one," Itsuki growled. "What the _hell _is tying all of it together?"

Ren furrowed his brows. "I have no idea what you're going on about."

Itsuki frowned, making his golden pupils clearer before his friend.

"_Ohoho_, you know exactly what I'm trying to talk about." Itsuki pointed his finger at Ren. "The story! What's the story in _Brave Star Online_!? Surely, we aren't just _dropped_ into the world and be told that we're allowed to go anywhere we want! Where's my linear progression!? Where's my converging ending!? I wanted a storyline that starts me off as the average person that grows into a great hero that saves humanity!"

"Play the dungeons," Ren answered casually. "Refer to the second question. There's your damn story."

"You're trying to piss me off on purpose," Itsuki narrowed his eyes, "aren't you?"

Ren sighed, shaking his head. "Look, I don't think you understand the game genre. It's an _open world _game," he steadily pronounced. "As in, _nonlinear_. You decide your own story and do whatever you want with it, if you want to phase it in that way. Just use your imagination, if that's what you want. It's no _Dimension Wave_, that's for sure. Linear video games are a thing of the past anyways."

"What are you talking about!? _Dimension Wave _is one of the highest rated games on the market!"

Ren rolled his eyes. "It's an okay game."

"It's a _great_ game! The storytelling is so amazing that you will always want to replay the game over and over! Don't just push over the power of a good story, Ren!"

"If you want a good story, you should probably ask Naofumi. He'll pick out a few good fantasy books for you."

"If I wanted to read, I'd already done it by now," Itsuki rebutted as he picked up his bowl and finished up the meal. "I get more immersed in games than books. It's so much easier."

"Yeah, alright. I'll give that," Ren shrugged. "I literally can't argue that since I have a console that _literally_ takes me to another world. Let's just agree to disagree for now."

Itsuki slumped his shoulders, tucking away his exasperation. "_Fine_. Fine. Agree to disagree it is."

"I'm guessing that's it for you?"

Itsuki stood up from the table, grimacing. "_Yeah_, no more virtual reality for me," Itsuki answered, moving along to the kitchen with his bowl. "You can do whatever you want with that second NerveGear you bought."

"I still have the receipt. I can probably head over to the game store to return the copy of _Brave Star Online_ and the console. Worse case scenario, I'll just trade them in or sell them back second hand online. It's only been about a week since I bought the stuff, so their value hasn't dropped down much."

"Still can't believe you have so much spare cash that you just casually bought another NerveGear." Itsuki scratched his head as he threw his stuff into the sink. "Though, I can't imagine another way you would use the money at all. You're pretty minimalist when it boils down to it."

"It's a shame, though," Ren offhandedly said, picking up a clump of rice. "You _were_ pretty good at getting those shots off."

"... _Heh_." He heard Itsuki chuckle to himself. "_I was, wasn't I?_"

Ren's expression became blank in the background.

'_Why are you so easy, Itsuki? Seriously, that type of attitude could land you in sticky situations,_' Ren wasn't even looking at his friend, but he could imagine the self-gratifying sparkles that flew around the curly-haired boy. '_You're lucky that I'm not into taking advantage of others, especially not my childhood friend._'

As Itsuki quickly washed his dishes and utensils, Ren merely glanced around the apartment to the sound of the running water. He had a small habit of looking about any room that he was in whenever he was bored, but even when nothing changed, he still found himself checking.

On one side of the apartment, there was the living room area that consisted of a leather couch settled across the television, hooked with a few consoles there and a library of games to follow. It was all laid on top of a patterned carpet, protecting the hardwood flooring.

Next came where the dining area was, cushioned with four seats. Each one was for each of the roommates that shared the apartment together. Down the corridor that Ren could see straight down, there were five rooms, four of which were divided equally to have the same amount of space. The last one at the end was the bathroom.

And then there was the kitchen that Itsuki was standing in, placing the wet dishes into the rack and drying his hand on the towel near the sink. The kitchen was just as big as the living room, but it was all on a collaborative agreement between the roommates to have it all decked out. After all, their local chef needed to have the best environment to be able to deliver his best.

However, Ren couldn't believe that it's already been two years since Itsuki and him moved into the apartment. They didn't even know who the other two were at the time and hoped they weren't terrible people, but even if Itsuki got along these days, Ren held his reserved judgments about them.

The entrance door down past the kitchen clicked open.

"I'm home, everybody!"

Ren held _strong_ reserved judgements about one of them in particular.

"Oh. Welcome home, Motoyasu," Itsuki said as the older roommate removed his shoes at the front and entered the kitchen.

Wearing a red plaid jacket, Ren caught the entrant in his sights, fitted with his usual aloof smile. The careless attitude alone made Ren sigh. His jacket was unbuttoned, leaving his two-piece connecting necklace clearly exposed against the white t-shirt.

He threw his leather satchel, meant for holding his notes from class, onto the kitchen counter before he paused to look over towards the duo. Ren could have sworn that the weight that sounded against the surface had been heavier than usual.

Itsuki opened up the fridge and took out a branded beer can preemptively.

"Hey, Itsuki? Can you pass me a—?"

"Catch."

Motoyasu looked over and snatched the airborne can, but knowing it got shaken in the throw, Motoyasu moved over towards the sink and popped up the lid there. The contents bubbled the moment the fizzing noise broke free, leaving Motoyasu's hand to be sticky, but he still went ahead and downed a solid sip.

"_Ahhh_, that _really_ hit the spot! Thanks, bud." Motoyasu cleaned up the can and leaned against the sink. Noticing Itsuki was looking over to him, Motoyasu extended the gesture. "Want some?"

"Motoyasu, I'm underaged."

The older roommate openly laughed and handwaved the issue away. "No one needs to know!"

Ren ended up finishing his own meal and stacked all the empty dishes on top of each other. He carried them over to the sink as Motoyasu bounced over to the kitchen island. "Well, you can keep your alcoholism to yourself and only yourself. Don't let that disease of stupidity spread over to us."

"Hey, I don't have alcoholism!" he said as he took another sip. "I just like drinking beer! To me, it's almost like soda! I can stop anytime. _I just choose not to_." He took one more sip.

"Yeah, that's what you call alcoholism."

Ren smelt the burnt stench of an unusual beer brand mixed into Motoyasu's breath as he came closer. As far as he knew, Motoyasu only willingly bought a single brand home for personal drinking, but whenever he heads out with his friends, he always ends up buying whatever went with the flow.

He whiffed the smell, waving his hand before his nose. "That's a pretty strong one, Motoyasu," Ren winced. "Where the hell did you head off to this time? Shouldn't you be keeping those for your late-night parties?"

Itsuki glanced at the ticking clock, hung up over the television. With the lights still bright out and warming weather for compliment, the time had only been around an hour past noon.

"Ah, some of my classmates forced a new one down my throat. They paid for it already, so I had to accept my fate," Motoyasu said, blowing his breath into his own hand to check it himself. "Don't worry about it, I'm not drunk. It's just the smell, it's not actually heavy."

"You went out to party around this time?" Itsuki asked, but as he mulled through his thoughts, he was able to answer his own question. "Ah, right. Midterm season should be ending for you."

"Yep!" Motoyasu nodded. "We had our last midterm this morning and everyone wanted to take it easy for the rest of the day! I would have come home earlier, but a few friends wanted me to introduce them to _Emerald Online_!"

"_Oh god, that game_."

Motoyasu frowned at Ren's comment as he cleaned up his dishes and piled them on Itsuki's bowl. "W-What's that supposed to mean!? Didn't you enjoy it when you played it with me?"

Both Ren and Itsuki glanced at each other, thinking about whatever nonsense Motoyasu was going on about. They probably had a better suited vocabulary for their opinions, but they decided to hold back a bit.

"It's so damn boring, Motoyasu. How do you find it fun?"

"Yeah, I have to agree with Ren. It felt a bit unpolished."

"I don't even know what the hell was meta in that game. It was literally, '_pick any fucking class you want except this one really bad class we refuse to update_,' and go from there. And it's really slow to pick up with almost no mechanics attached to it. Literally a DPS race made into a MMORPG."

"And without any interesting lore either."

"Isn't it more of a social media platform nowadays?"

"W-What are you two going on about!?" Motoyasu stomped his foot in a childish display of frustration, putting an end to their frontal assault. He was frightened that they would even continue onwards if he didn't interrupt them.

"_Emerald Online_ is really fun! You guys haven't invested enough time to see the fruits of its amusement! You have to clock in _at least_ fifty hours until things start to get rolling!"

Ren mouthed the 'fifty hours' part silently in disbelief.

"Yeah, sorry." Itsuki shook his head with sympathy. "I don't think I'd want to get addicted to a bad game like _Emerald Online._"

"It's not a bad game!" Motoyasu pleaded. "I'm telling you—!"

"Wait." Ren raised his hand to hold against his forehead, drawing his roommates' attention. "I'm feeling _massive _deja vu. We've _been _here before, so I'll just cut it here and conclude that you should agree to disagree."

Both Motoyasu and Itsuki silently agreed, pushing that mindless discussion off the table. However, Motoyasu's eye leered over to the kitchen counter as he slumped over defeatedly, realizing that he almost forgot about his satchel bag—rather, he'd almost forgot about what was _within_ the bag.

"Oh! Right!" He turned to Ren and Itsuki who started simply hanging around the island. "Did Naofumi come home from his classes yet?"

"_Dude, he doesn't _have _classes today_," Ren answered impassively.

"He's been cooped up in his room all morning, trying to finish up assignments," Itsuki followed. "Did you need something from him?"

"I don't need something _from_ him," Motoyasu smirked. "Instead, I _got_ something for him."

"_Round of applause for Motoyasu Kitamura, everybody_. _What a saint._"

Not letting Ren's sarcastic taunt get to him, Motoyasu placed the can of beer on the counter—'_Wait, how the hell is it already half empty?_'—and reached out for his bag. He unlatched the clip and pulled out a giant textbook.

However, textbook wouldn't be the word that Ren would have used to describe it. Both Itsuki and Ren watched as Motoyasu basically slammed the medieval-style book right in the middle of the kitchen island. He didn't do it on purpose; Ren could see that it was so heavily weighted among its countless pages and metal-plated cover, marked with intricate patterns like nothing they've seen before. It held a mysterious atmosphere around it like it was found in an attic with no recollection of putting it there.

Both Ren and Itsuki raised their eyebrows as Motoyasu took a deep breath from carrying it over.

"... Are you trying to perform alchemy?"

"... Who the hell are you resurrecting from the dead?"

"C'mon, it's just a book," Motoyasu dismissed. "No one's going to lose an arm and a leg because of it."

"If someone does, I don't want to be in the area. Anyways," Itsuki backed off with his joke and headed over the inner corridor, "it's for Naofumi, right? I'll grab him and see if he can spare some time to be given a gift." He walked off nonchalantly, turning the corner from Ren's sights.

In the meanwhile, Ren got a closer look at the mysterious book. It looked rather old, but it was contradictory to the sense that it looked like it was well-kept. He noticed the title of the large book, scribbling across the cover. With no other words in sight, Ren automatically read it out loud.

"_The Record of the Four Holy Weapons._"

Ren felt his heart skip a beat as he repeated the words in his head.

'_W-What… is this feeling…?_'

Chills ran down his spine for some reason, yet he couldn't explain it. He had never seen the book before this moment, but he was seriously getting bad vibes from it. It was as if the book's title had been calling for him from the depths.

"_H-Hey_… Motoyasu?" Ren said, almost shaking in his clothing. "W-Where _did _you find this book?"

"Huh? Some white-haired girl gave it to me," Motoyasu answered without a second to spare. He picked up his beer and started to finish it up. "She came up to me after I parted with my friends and, out of nowhere, she just gave it to me, telling me that it's the utmost importance that I take it. '_The book that will alter fate_', so she claims. Kinda romantic, don't you think? I think she was trying to hit on me!"

Ren tried to keep up his expression stale, but the sudden anxiety had been building up in his body.

"Quite the looker too," Motoyasu mused on. "She was so beautiful, like an angel that descended from the heavens above to bestow this book to me! Unfortunately, I don't read books, especially thick ones like these, so I decided to pass it on to Naofumi. Might as well give it some—W-What? What's wrong, Ren?"

Motoyasu stopped talking the moment he looked back to his roommate. His face had been blanched, as if he was frightened in the presence of the book, but Motoyasu pushed that idea aside. There was _no possible way_ Ren had been scared of a wee no-so-little book, right? Motoyasu just couldn't fathom that possibility.

Ren covered his mouth with a sudden loss of breath. Cold sweat quietly dripped from his forehead. "_S-Sorry_. Nothing's wrong. I-I just…"

"Motoyasu, you needed something?"

Naofumi walked into the kitchen with Itsuki, ruffling his own messy, black hair. He wore his familiar green sweater and light brown trouser, an outfit he was quite comfortable with, as he glanced at the two roommates.

"Oh! Naofumi! There you are!"

"Itsuki said you had a gift for me?" Naofumi immediately noticed the book on the island, smiling in the gesture.

Motoyasu formally introduced the new book to its new owner. "Taa daa!" he sang. "It's a book! I… I _think_ it's a fantasy novel, judging from the title, so it should fit right in there with your other fantasy genre books. Just mind the entire format of the thing!"

"Oh, you shouldn't have, Motoyasu. Out of the blue like this?"

"Well, I got my hands on it and I'm not going to read it," Motoyasu chuckled, "so I might as well give it to someone that will. Put it into good hands!"

"Thanks. I appreciate it, Motoyasu!" Naofumi brightly smiled at the older roommate. It was almost blindly to how pure that smile was. Both hands caught onto the book as he attempted to lift it up. There was a slight struggle, but Naofumi didn't say anything about it. "I'll just bring this to my room and read it whenever I have the—"

"_Read it now_."

A quiet, yet audible voice escaped through the mouth.

Motoyasu, Naofumi, and Itsuki raised their brows, darting their heads over to Ren. The odd request was parsed between the other roommates, but after Naofumi glanced over to Itsuki and Motoyasu, he decided that he needed a break from doing his assignments anyways. He was more than happy to listen to his friends as long as it wouldn't cause a problem.

"S-Sorry," Ren mumbled. "_I just... have a bad feeling about that book_."

"A bad feeling?" Itsuki asked. "What do you mean by a bad feeling?"

"... I… can't explain it."

Itsuki had wanted to crack a joke at Ren, but his expression had been troubling for the curly-haired roommate. Ren wasn't the type to make many jokes in the first place, if it hadn't been one made in a sarcastic tone.

"If it's just for the first few pages, I can definitely do that," Naofumi smiled. "Are you interested in the book too? I can definitely let you borrow it whenever you want."

"... In a way, you can say that I'm interested."

'_Not in the light-hearted way you might be thinking about it, Naofumi._'

Itsuki and Motoyasu had their confusion still in check, but if Naofumi had been alright with it, there wasn't much of a discussion to make. They looked over Naofumi's shoulder out of their own curiosity as Ren glanced from the fridge, leaning against it with his arms crossed. There were a lot of words layered nto the pages, but since Naofumi was a rather quick reader, he could parse through them easily for the group.

The first pages held short blurbs and next to them was an artist's rendition of what seemed to be a village being destroyed by odd-looking monsters. The next few were lengthy, but Naofumi was a fast reader compared to the rest, so he briefly summarized for the group.

These pages took up the archetype in which the unknown author delivered the prologue in terms of a written prophecy. It was a world where the countries had been facing a disaster where destruction would come in waves and soon leave the world in ruin.

Locked in a race against time, the king had to call power for a ritual to summon heroes that would fight against the cause of this destruction.

Four beings from different worlds that were called into the fight, and while being themselves was not enough, they came into the world's existence pre-equipped with a weapon correlating to what the prophecies foretold.

Naofumi turned the page to find a picture of those four weapons, each belonging to a summoned hero.

The Sword Hero, the person of great strength.

The Spear Hero, the person of undying loyalty.

The Bow Hero, the person of absolute justice.

The Shield Hero, the person of protection incarnated.

"This is the story of how the four heroes rose up together against their fates, fighting as a single team."

Motoyasu scoffed, needing to act around the kitchen. "_Shield Hero_!? Seriously!? The shield isn't even a weapon!" he laughed. "There's a reason why the shielder class is the worst class in _Emerald Online_! No matter how much the devs want to fix it, it just never works out! That's why they stopped trying!"

"Hey, Motoyasu?"

"Ye—?"

"Shut the hell up," Ren clearly said, glaring. He was trying to focus on every single syllable of Naofumi's words. "_Please_."

"R-Right." Wryly shrinking his chuckle, Motoyasu turned back to Naofumi flipping the pages, though at a faster rate now. "Anything else in that grandiose book there?"

"... There's nothing," Itsuki answered, peeking over Naofumi's shoulder.

Ren immediately straightened his back. "_Nothing_?"

"Itsuki's right. The book's completely blank after the prologue," Naofumi added. "I keep flipping through the pages, but every single piece of paper after the whole introduction is empty. Not even a single blotch of ink."

Motoyasu frowned. "T-That's… pretty weird…"

"You mentioned that you were randomly given this book," Ren pondered aloud at Motoyasu. "I wonder why? If it's empty, it doesn't make any sense..."

He didn't know if his shivering had to do anything with the lack of substance in the book, but even he knew that his instinctual perception wasn't good enough to predict a book's content by its cover. There had to be something else he was picking up from this mysterious book, but if this was the most that it had to offer, Ren would have dropped the topic right then and there.

However, Ren heard his heart thump _heavily_.

A serene voice whispered into his mind.

'_**Come, Cardinal Heroes. We call you to come save our lands.**_'

And suddenly—

—_a loud screeching ripped before everyone's ears._

They all dropped unnaturally to the ground as if the gravity had increased dramatically, all screaming in pain.

Ren gritted his teeth, but his body wouldn't respond to his own volitions. It kept pushing itself downwards as his brain was screaming in anguish and his skull wanted to shatter into pieces. His arms struggled to support himself up until it gave up on him, slamming his cheek onto the wooden floor.

Any harder and Ren could have sworn that he would have caused a hole, or at least a sizable dent.

In the background, his roommates had been crying out in their own bewilderment.

"C-Crap! What's going on!?"

"I-I don't know! Ask Motoyasu! He brought home the book!"

"I just took it from the girl! God, it hurts! Make it stop!"

"_Gah…_.! _D-Damn it_…!"

Ren winced as he made his attempt to fight back, but the pressure had been too heavy for him. Everyone found themselves laying face down against the floor, helpless against the mysterious force. Even though he made his efforts, as did everyone else, his consciousness gave up and drifted away.

All that Ren remembered afterwards was how his tensed body simply let go.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

At this point, I've exhausted of things I want to say that aren't already in the foreword as the opening chapter, but I do want to mention something.

I'm introducing something new to the end of each chapter and if you read [Hope of the Shield Hero] by _Allen Blaster_, you might see some similarities. Of course, please read that story, but at the end of each chapter starting from Chapter 14, he began something called Hero Clips, which were silly and fun omakes of the characters.

I'm going to try something similar, but twist it for my own style.

If you played any of the "Tales of" games, you'll see the similar format. It's a skit based style of extra content, but where Allen Blaster's hero clips sometimes overtake certain scenes with a fun approach or have an entirely different idea in the first place, these skits are what is referred to as 'optional content'.

In other words, these skits can be laid within the story's plot and _can_ be treated as things that happened in this story, but there will be no references to these skits during the main story. It'll just be about the characters interacting with each other during some of the "in between" moments of the story.

Some of them are going to be light-hearted in nature. Some of them are going to be unimportant, but helpful, insight to the thought process of characters. Some of them are going to monologues about the situation from their perspective and others, perhaps a review of the dire situation at hand from their perspective. Some of them might be reaffirmations of certain foreshadowing that I feel like are important to think about.

Enjoy!

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 001 : If You Die In The Game...**

[Itsuki] : "H-Holy crap, I'm still alive!"

[Ren] : "... Uh, why wouldn't you be? You only died in _Brave Star Online_, Itsuki."

[Itsuki] : "A-And I was still able to log out!?"

[Ren] : "... What the hell are you going on about?"

[Itsuki] : "So the creator of the virtual reality game _isn't_ a psychopath that wants to trap everyone in their game and force them to complete it to be able to log out, all while having the difficulty of permadeath?"

[Ren] : "... What the hell?"

[Itsuki] : "And it's not one of those things where if you die in the game, you die in real life!?"

[Ren] : "... Did playing _Brave Star Online_ fry your brain or something? No one would be able to get away with something like that, Itsuki! And what the hell would be this supposed _mastermind_'s plan? It just wouldn't make any sense!"

[Itsuki] : "Y-Yeah, I guess so. Sorry, that was a strange thought."

[Ren] : "... Playing for your life inside of a video game, huh? That doesn't actually sound too bad, especially if you're good at the game. Sounds pretty _fun_, if you ask me."

[Itsuki] : "Wait, what?"

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**


	3. Chapter 1-02 : Four Cardinal Heroes

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

Naofumi groaned_,_ feeling the floor against his face.

Control returned to his body steady like systematically breaking out of a trance; first came his fingers twitching, and then followed the ability to clench his hand. His torso started to budge, as cold as it was against the stone surface. Unfortunately, those returning senses came true for his head as well, stinging in an uncomfortable pain.

'_C-Crap, is this what a hangover feels like…?_' Naofumi winced, pulling his head instinctively onto his forehead. '_M-Man, Motoyasu makes these things easier than it seemed…_' The memory of his friend waking up in such a state from late-night drinking on several occasions, yet still trying his best to function in the morning suddenly appeared incredible.

Next came his eyes that recovered. His blurred vision started to clear up, but he couldn't precisely see what was going on. However, he could notice that there was a crowd of robed people gathered before him as he squinted his eyes, wondering if he was seeing correctly. Likewise, they were as speechless as Naofumi, but their presence caused him to realize that they weren't in their familiar kitchen anymore.

'_H-Huh…? What happened to me? Where am I?_'

Naofumi's mouth opened up in his confusion of the drastic shift in surroundings, frozen and unable to even mutter. Moments before, he was simply reading through that book until everyone suddenly dropped onto the floor. He assumed that they too felt the piercing headache allied with the non-audible, yet deafening screeches.

As his consciousness cleared up and held its reines onto his mind, his realizations had been the last to recover from the mysterious phenomenon and it whipped Naofumi into a frantic panic.

'_W-Where are they!?_'

"Motoyasu! Itsuki! Ren!" Naofumi slowly got up, almost tripping himself over from how quickly he leapt up onto his feet. "Where are you three!? Are you guys okay!? Guys!?"

Of course, he noticed the fact that they were inside a dark room, lit only by torches and a mysterious light underneath him, marked by an outline of a patterned circle. Of course, he noticed that he was the center of attention, as all of the robed men stared at him. He even noticed the fact that they were standing on top of something that was like an altar, but none of it really registered to him.

He needed to know if his friends were safe.

His heart skipped a beat as he heard groaning coming from his feet. There were two bodies rolling around in a similar dazed state as he was, but they were both waking up like how they usually did in the mornings.

"_Ugh… That actually hurts…_"

"_What the hell happened…?_"

_Somewhat._

Both Motoyasu and Itsuki were sprawling on the illuminated ground, but Ren was already standing up. The younger friend looked to have already brushed away his discomfort, but Naofumi had a hard time telling if it was really gone. Ren always tried to keep his expressions straight and despite the sudden turn of events, it was no different now.

However, Naofumi noticed Ren suddenly carrying a sword. As the other two came to their own, Naofumi saw that Motoyasu had a spear in his hand while Itsuki had a bow.

Naofumi instinctively looked down at his own hand. He didn't even notice that he had a shield there; it was so light, just like a feather, as a green gem was planted within the center. He tugged on the shield, but it didn't look like he could remove it.

Nevertheless, Naofumi shook his head.

"H-Hey—Itsuki, Motoyasu? You two doing alright?"

"_Had better days, Naofumi…_" Itsuki shook his head. It was hard for him to focus since the screeching were still ringing in his ears. He tried slapping his eardrums to pop out the noise a few times. "I think I'll live through this one though…"

"Y-Yeah, I _don't think_ we're dead. Unless this is some weird version of the afterlife." Motoyasu pushed himself onto his butt to collect his feelings in the rest of his body. "That has to be good news, right? Or… terrible, I really can't tell."

"And Ren?" Naofumi glanced over. "What about you?"

However, Ren ignored Naofumi and glared into the sea of wardrobes. His eyes narrowed onto them, as if he was already suspicious of them before he walked right past the friends. Naofumi's eyes tracked Ren's movements as he stood before the small flight of stairs, not knowing what he was doing.

"You were the ones that summoned us here, right?"

Now that Ren mentioned it, this was looking like one of those summoning rituals in some fantasy novels he had read, but he had to applaud his friend to have figured something like that out so quickly given the circumstances. Though, it did seem like a stretch to conclude and Naofumi's beliefs were briefly suspended.

Though, he _did_ consider Ren to be the most calm, collected, and observant out of the group, so if he had any clues as to what was happening, it was probably the best bet.

Naofumi should probably follow in Ren's tracks to see how this plays out.

"Tell us where we are, or else I'll turn this place into dust."

'… _Or not_.'

Instead, Naofumi silently screamed, seeing that was how Ren started it out, but he supposed it felt just like Ren to do such a thing. He never liked beating around the bush and liked getting down to business, so handing in a frontal threat like that wouldn't be _out_ of question for Ren to do.

However, the crowd dispersed allowing two people to walk in.

One of them had darkened armour and was befitting the title of knight. His face had been stern, holding the expression of someone in their forties. His black hair, a few grey hairs intertwining, contrasted quite a bit as he glanced at the four roommates, locked with crimson eyes. There were two weapons on him, one of which was a warhammer and the other was a sword, though it looked to be decorative.

The other had been an old man who was cloaked in a sophisticated wardrobe and a cape, walking by the knight's side with a cane. His white hair was originally white, but tainted in a dark murky colour, though it was mostly hidden underneath the mage's white hat. He stroked his beard, as if he was inspecting the four roommates, as his grey eyes leered from the hat's shadow.

"To think such the ancient ceremony was successfully completed." The knight nodded in simple admiration. "As expected of your excellent prowess and understanding of the arcane, Lord Aldrecht."

"I appreciate the compliment, Sir Lothringen," the old man responded, but had a heavy sigh tacked on. "However, I still don't understand what goes through the king's head. Choosing to perform a ritual like this, especially _now_."

"I'm sure His Majesty has a plan, Lord Aldrecht. He is a man of wisdom, so we should believe in his orders."

"For everyone's sake, I sincerely hope that there's more he hasn't told me yet. That would be just like him, wouldn't it?" He made an amused chuckle, but it felt forced. "Now, why don't you go get our new heroes settled in, Sir Lothringen?"

Both Motoyasu and Itsuki managed to regain their footings, shaking off their stiffness and stillness. They were just as astounded to see that they've woken up in an entirely different location, but as they came to terms with their surroundings, all the robed men had knelt down before them. Even the outlandish knight had knelt before them and the old man, who shimmered in importance in comparison, bowed his head.

"As the proctor of those that summoned you, I thank you for accepting our cries for help and coming to Melromarc. My name is Lothringen and I come as a representative. Hear my words, legendary heroes."

'_H-Heroes…_?'

Naofumi couldn't believe what he was hearing right now. If this had been some type of elaborate prank one of his friends was pulling off, this would have been making sense, but only Motoyasu would have been the type to pull off stunts like these and even he looked baffled by what was happening.

The four of them stood side-by-side, glancing at each other as the knight spoke before they returned to hearing his solemn plea.

"On behalf of our wise king and on behalf of our entire world, please lend us your strength."

Naofumi widened his eyes.

"Lend us the strength of the holy weapons and save this world from destruction, Cardinal Heroes!"

* * *

**)**—**(\**IV**| Chapter 1-02 |**IV**/)|**—**(  
)\\( The Four Cardinal Heroes )/(**

* * *

"_I can't believe it._" Itsuki dipped his head outside of the castle's opened windows. "We're actually in another world. This is actually crazy."

Naofumi looked over his shoulder, seeing all of the European-styled housing aligned in a beautiful, collective fashion, with a giant clock tower ticking in the middle of what seems to be the city's public square. With a bright blue sky, trinkled with small clouds hovering over the pleasant city, they both felt the wondrous and natural breeze embrace their cheeks.

"It's… It's gorgeous," Naofumi muttered. "I can see so much from here."

There was one thing for certain.

_This wasn't Japan._

"I'm actually going to wake up from this in a few minutes, aren't I?" Itsuki told himself. He even slapped himself in the cheeks lightly. "There's absolutely no way we're in another world just like that."

"I don't know, Itsuki," Motoyasu replied, rolling his wrist. "This seems pretty real to me."

Motoyasu looked out of the adjacent window, sharing the same perspective as the other two while Ren hung back with the knight who allowed them to admire the view. Unlike his friends, Ren was glancing at the sword that was seemingly stuck on him.

The distraction wasn't going to deter him from the real situation they have on hand right now. Ren pondered at the supernatural possibility since he was already firing the assumption of the explanations of summoning magic into the mix; he might as well double down with the most intuitive explanation, even if it defied their own scientific logic.

'_Heroes, all wielding a different weapon…_ _Sword, Spear, Bow, Shield._"

It was odd to believe that not a single hour had passed, but their environment had drastically changed and it wasn't hard to speculate that they were brought into another world. The real question concerned about where they were and without the defining piece of evidence in each of their hands, he would have been merely considering his current hypothesis.

"Have you three enjoyed yourselves yet?" Lothringen's voice had been clear, concise and firm. It snapped everyone out from their thoughts. "You will have all the time to enjoy similar sights, but I must be bringing you to our wise king. My sincerest apologies."

"Oh, it's fine," Naofumi responded, nudging his friends to leave. "We shouldn't be delaying your job! I'd feel terrible about holding you up like this."

Naofumi beckoned his outlooking friends to come along with him.

"Thank you for understanding, Shield Hero," Lothringen said, yet his expression didn't break. Naofumi wondered if Lothringen was better at keeping a straight face more than Ren. "The king is expecting you and I don't wish to keep him waiting for long. After all, he shall be the one to further explain the situation for you, so that will benefit you four."

The group dismissed themselves from the small detour and followed Lothringen's footsteps. There were a few knights, all in simpler and uniformed armour, that they passed that raised a salute to the leading knight as respect.

After a handful, Ren subconsciously noted how much of a high ranking knight Lothringen must have been. He wasn't simply another normal soldier for his country, if the difference in uniforms hadn't been clearer about that detail. Those that passed them looked rather plain, but Lothringen's outfit was something that a top tier player from _Brave Star Online_ would wear.

Going up a few flights of stairs and heading down the hall, two guards, upon giving their salutes first, pushed open a set of two huge doors. They were definitely heavy as they both pushed with two hands and still made a slow reveal. The five men walked into the throne room where another old man sat on the highest esteemed seat, bearing the crown on his head.

Lothringen had walked up and knelt down, lowering his head deeper than what he did for them.

"_Your Majesty_," he announced with the highest order of respect, "I have come bringing the Cardinal Heroes of the ancient prophecies. These four young men behind me are the ones that have answered our calls of assistance. Please bestow them your wisdom and guide them to this world."

"At ease, Sir Lothringen." The king, compared to the knight, held a very authorizing and commanding voice. "First, I would like to ask about Aldrecht's whereabouts."

Naofumi remembered that the old man with Lothringen looked much more important than any of the other mages in the room. He wondered if they were talking about him.

"Your Majesty," Lothringen responded with no sign of faltering, "I'm afraid Lord Aldrecht has chosen to stay behind at the summoning ritual. He claims that he must attend to an issue that has arisen and I believe that he will soon speak to you about it."

"... Very well. It cannot be helped." The king waved his hand. "You may raise your head, Sir Lothringen. I thank you for acting as the ritual's proctor."

"It was an honour, Your Majesty."

"Aside, Sir Lothringen, and make way for our valued guests."

Lothringen stood up once he finished speaking and walked over to the side. He gestured to the four apparent heroes to take his place as they all walked up before the king. Naofumi didn't know if they should have bowed, but none of his friends were doing that, so he simply left it alone.

"I personally welcome all of you to the country of Melromarc, Cardinal Heroes. I am the king of this land, Aultcray Melromarc the 32nd."

The atmosphere that was held around him was tight. Naofumi felt _wrong_ to not bow his head.

"I would like to hear your names before we proceed, if it's not too troubling."

The four looked at least other, silently ordering whoever should go first, but they miraculously figured it out within a few seconds.

"My name's Ren Amaki. Sixteen years old."

"I'm Itsuki Kawasumi and I'm seventeen years old."

"The name's Motoyasu Kitamura! I'll be twenty-two in about a month!"

"And my name is Naofumi Iwatani. I'm twenty."

The king nodded in affirmation. "Ren Amaki, Itsuki Kawasumi, Motoyasu Kitamura, and… _Naofumi Iwatani_."

Naofumi could have sworn that there was a scorn used to say his name, but he shook away that feeling. After all, he had only met the king, so there wasn't any reason that he would have used animosity over his name. However, he hesitated to affirm that in his mind.

"Did I pronounce those correctly?" the king asked, smoothly smiling. "I'll admit, your names are slightly difficult to say."

"No, you got them pretty nicely," Motoyasu responded. "Though, you might want to let Naofumi's name slide by more easily! Let up on the articulation! Besides, Aultcray is a pretty hard name to say as well!"

"_It's not really hard…_" Ren mumbled in his mouth.

'_Oh, that wasn't anything important,_' Naofumi sighed in relief. He didn't know what he would have done if the king randomly hated him, but that in itself was an irrational conclusion to jump to. '_It was just hard to say my name._'

"I will keep that in mind," the king nodded, yet his expression didn't change. "Then with the formalities out of the way, allow me to explain the reasons why we have called on you upon our world."

Ren's eyes glared onwards as he was particularly trying to use his entire attention span to listen to what the king was trying to say. He was intending to use this opportunity to make some confirmations with some of his preemptive guesses.

And so, the king's story went as follows.

There was an old prophecy that foretold the destruction of their world. They came in waves of destruction, called such as each one made an attempt to wash away all that lived on the land repeatedly until nothing remained. There was an hourglass that would alert them of the disaster, beginning to fall on one month intervals upon the first wave.

In other words, the first wave had already occurred and what was reported had been fearful. The moon would turn red as fissures from the skies leaked out monsters in large swarms, never before seen in this world, as they sent themselves to hunt and kill everything and everybody. The next one is predicted to be much stronger.

However, the prophecies also foretold that they will have a chance to survive if they were summoned forth the Cardinal Heroes. Four beings from four different worlds were called to save their lands, growing with a power immeasurable by any natives.

"_Four beings…_" Naofumi heard Ren mutter quietly. "... _from four different worlds_."

"Of course," the king continued, "I will not be letting your efforts go unrewarded. Saving our world is a grand feat and it should be met with a reward just as grand. Whether it shall be gold or glory, you will be properly compensated."

"Your Majesty," Lothringen kindly interrupted, "would you mind if I could add something while we are dealing with a few housekeeping checks with the Cardinal Heroes?"

"Not at all, Sir Lothringen. Please, go ahead."

Lothringen cleared his throat and turned to face them. "This is merely something of regulation, but I would like the Cardinal Heroes to please check their 'Status Magic' and perform a self-evaluation on what they see."

Naofumi paused, blinking blankly at the unfamiliar words. He waited for a few moments to see if there was anything else lingering after the knight's words, but he stood there, waiting for the heroes to do their apparent 'self-evaluation'. He absolutely had no idea what that could have meant, so he latched onto the first unknown term, tilting his head.

"You said… '_Status Magic_'?"

"Yes, it is what you may be seeing in your vision right now," Lothringen explained. "Everyone in this world is given this ability from their birth and it's very deterministic of your strengths."

Both Naofumi and Motoyasu looked at each other, dumbfounded. He was glad he wasn't the only one. However, Ren and Itsuki didn't have any problems following the instructions until Ren noticed that the two left behind had been in utter confusion.

"... _Right_. You two never actually touched a NerveGear before in your lives," Ren sighed, but he vaguely gestured to the corner of his peripheral for them. "There should be some icons down in the bottom left of your vision. Just imagine your eyes controlling a mouse pointer and click on them. Should be the first icon from the left."

Naofumi and Motoyasu followed Ren's easier-to-understand instructions and indeed noticed the markings there. Naofumi was surprised that it was there the entire time and he didn't even notice it. A click went and a soft beep followed as a full semi-transparent screen appeared before him.

**Naofumi Iwatani  
Class : Shield Hero LV1**

There was also a list of his equipment, being the shield and his clothes, along with a list of skills and magic, which there were obviously none. There were also a numerical chain of stats, but Naofumi couldn't take it all in as quickly as his friends.

All he was going on about internally was how fascinating this was.

"I'm _really_ going to need to get used to this," Motoyasu mulled. His face was saying that he was being as overwhelmed as Naofumi was, but he was certainly intrigued.

"Never thought my time in _Brave Star Online_ would help me in such a situation," Itsuki commented, but he raised his eyebrows. "So what? This is a game system of some sort?"

"Well, if it is, we can work with this. My only concern is that we're uncharacteristically weak for being heroes," Ren said. "These numbers are a real joke to deal with if I compare them to _Brave Star Online_."

"Yeah, I was looking at those too. They don't look like very heroic statistics."

Naofumi, trusting Ren and Itsuki, was simply going to assume the same for his own numbers.

"If power was that easy to obtain, then perhaps there wouldn't be the fear of the waves." Lothringen answered, almost amusingly. "In any case, you are to strengthen them, Cardinal Heroes. To grow stronger and evolve your abilities, we expect you to travel outwards on a journey to power up your holy weapons."

Motoyasu gasped as he excitedly looked over to the others, as if the implications were immediately clear to him.

"That only means one thing! We're partying up _together_! Imagine fighting together with me as the vanguard, Ren as the flanker, Itsuki as our ranged attacker, and Naofumi—_well, he can tank, I guess._" Naofumi wryly laughed, trying not to lose his smile, in a sudden shift of energy. "This will be the best thing ev—!"

"I'd hate to intrude, but that's impossible."

Naofumi, Ren and Itsuki could see Motoyasu's spirit flying out of his body, scattering into millions of pieces. He would have slumped over onto the ground if his body didn't straighten itself up in time.

"Legends tell us that the holy weapons naturally repel each other. In other words, you will not be able to receive experience as you fight monsters if there is another Cardinal Hero in the area."

Motoyasu caught his soul escaping through his mouth and immediately stomped forwards.

"Well, that's conveniently inconvenient! We can't level up if we're next to each other!? Please tell me you're joking!"

"It does sound rather odd," Itsuki added in. "I've never heard of such a counter productive rule before."

"I mean, the instructions about that are right in the menus. It's not like he's lying," Ren mentioned, garnering his friends' attention. "Looks like there's a few help menus to let us get used to this world and the holy weapon's rules."

Naofumi tried to pull it up for himself, for the sake of practice. One of the icons looked like a menu and when he mentally pressed on it, he was taken to something like a main menu. It was easy to read and he eventually came across the same set of instructions that Ren would be looking at, but when he opened it up—

**[Attention]  
[̷̡̙͓̰̳̭̹̅̈́̊̄[̶̡̢͇̥̩͔͍̟͔́̚ͅC̷̗̥͓̝̙͋͆a̸̼̠̹͇̹̝͊̊̈̀̀̔͠ŗ̴̭̺̹͚̀̽͒͂͊̅̊d̴͕̞̪͈͊͌̒͆̏i̴̡̡̞̭̹̲̹̮̘̤̊̒͝ṇ̴̡̛̖͙͒̄̇̌́ą̵͔̯̓l̵̫̮͓̱͉͕̼̎̽̅̊̓ ̶̡̧̗͈͐̔̌̋̓̋̽͝H̷̫̩͍͝e̴̥̘̳͓̥̱̭̞͉͛͛͐̒̓̐͐̆͜r̴̘̭̈́̊̈̋̾͝o̴̡̨̲̠̦͍̭̯̼̝̾̀̅͒̿͠e̸̱̠̦͖̯͆͊̿̀̾̆͝s̶̫̼̗̟̳̯͗̋ ̶̭̺͖͙̩͍͋̄̅͜a̸̰̗̗̰̠̞̽̽͘r̸̢̖͓͎̺̗͎̓̅́̍̈́͜͝ͅe̷͚̣̤̲̩̹͚̹͖̐̓́͒̍̆́̐͜ ̴̱̞̯͈̖̎̓̐́͝ḩ̵͉̲̬͙͔͈͑͗̀͋ỉ̶̡̺̲͕̦̰̳̿͑̂͋g̶̯̜̣̓̉̋͌̄̓̈͌͐͗h̷̨͍̹̰͎̙̓́͗̓l̸̡̡̺̥̼͂̊͆́̋̊ÿ̴̢̫̪̭̞́̎̂̇͛͆̋̈ ̴̧̛̜̲̾̐̈́̐͌̔ȁ̸̬̬̮̮̪̪͓̄̑̇̂̆͛̕͠d̴͓͖̦̥͖͈̞͙͇̐̋̉̅v̴͈̻̋́͑̄͂̐̈́̂i̵̢̨̡̬͉͙̬̻̘̅̀͒̚ͅs̸̡̰̾̊͋̒̏͋͋͘̕ë̷͚̞͔͔͍̞͙̬́͌̔͑̂̀̃͠d̵̡̨̰͓̩̉ ̵̛̬̻̼̠̱̔̈́͒͛͆̇́͠t̶̡̩̗̯͎͕̅͜ǫ̸̣͂̂͒͆͛͒̾ ̴̖̙̎̓̿̌̕f̶̨̨̗̈́į̴̧̫̘̯̽̀̀̈́̏͘ǧ̵̺̚ḥ̸̟̝̜͗͂̈́̑̏̚͜t̴̡̩̬̫̮͎̉ ̶̘́͋s̶̡̨͙̙̩͙̒͜e̷̠͕̒͐̈́̒̄̔p̷̖̠̭̱̖͖̈̊̂̅̉̚͘ą̶͓́̚͝r̴̘̼̙̬̮̠͕͚̿̂͆͐͗̈́͆͗ą̵͍̃͊̾̃̿̂̚̚t̷̡̳̐̃͆͗̎̔̓͋̅ȅ̵̫͔̖̓̊͊̒̈́̋̋̆̓ļ̶͍͇͕̹̭̺̏̈́̅̃̎̕͘͝͠ͅy̵̫̗͐̉̽́̅͐̽.̴̺͕̺̝̆̀̃̎̃̐̎̈̚͝ ̵̥̄̀͆̀́̏̌̔͠͠T̷͕͇͉̙͕́͛̚h̸̭̙̙͙͎͚̥̲͆̑̒̌̇̌͑͘̕͜͝ę̸̞̼̗̘́ͅ ̸̧̬̬̟̥̯̹͍̔̾̆͐̃͆̌̀͘̕H̴̢̙̟̭̪͗o̶͕̱̺̥͘ļ̸̨̠͇̻̳̯̼̝͌͌̏̏̿̌͂̕͜͝y̶̼͈̱͚͌͊̓̑̂̓ ̴̢͈͚̪̃Ẃ̶̫ę̶̪̟̤̫̥̱̙̫̓̀̋́̂̉̽̐͛͜͠a̷̡̽̒͐̐͋͠p̸̧̧̡̬̠͖͍̅ö̵́̓̾͌̒͗̑̄͂ͅn̴̙̻͛̆̉͌͘s̸̢̯͙̘̜̓ ̸̖̻͊̈́̎ẅ̸͈̯̲̟̈̒͊̋̔͑͜͜í̸̮̳͚̥̹͔̪̪̜̼͘̕l̴̰̖̘̬̠͔̺̭͈͎̽̔́͝l̷̢͚͐͆̆̈́̍̓̋͐̒͜ ̸̡̭̙̰̼̗͑̋͝e̵͚̯͍̲̦͓̓̊̀̿̒́̈́x̸̰̺̍̈́̄̆̆͊̐̑̑p̸̫͕͈̙͕̠̅͒̕e̶̛̱̯̗͇͙̲̮̲͕̅̓́́͑̾̍̊ŗ̵̭̺͖͍̉̉ì̵͈̳͕̠̫͙͙̭͔͙̅̾e̸͔͔͎̺̹̗̼͓̼͐͛̾͌̆̀̓̔̀̀n̴̡̧̡̙͚͇̻̘͋̒c̶̡͉̞͕̝̟͆͝ĕ̶̛̮̹̫̋͗͜ ̶̱̹̝̠̣̬̯͆̌͋̃̔͂̚͝͝à̷̘̙ḑ̶̧̹̫̹̠̥̥̪̽̀͌͑ͅṿ̵̠̕e̸̡̹̟͕̳̼̪͕̳͑̓͗̇̔ŕ̶̛͚̻̰̙͇̘̀̋͝ṣ̶̡͎͚͎͇͕̰̉͌̑̓ͅe̸̢̝̮̘̫̮̞̬͋͑̓ ̸̡̢̡̻̤̜̤͍͕̀͑͆̊͝ͅë̷̜͉͍́̿̿̈́̓̽̐f̴̨̱͚̬̦̮͚̦̠̀́̓̎͒f̵̯̟̝̜̯̑͒̔̊̀̕͠e̴͙̖̫̳͆̇͊̾͂̊͘c̴͔̬͍̈́ṯ̸͇̼̻̼̹̻̭̔̌̐̑̾ͅs̵̨͙̣͐͗͋̇̎͐͂̉͘ ̸̩̦͙̤̳̘̱͖̙́͒͊̃͠ơ̸̛̩̲̔͋͊͌̂̾ͅf̶̢͓̲̘͔̦̬̍̿̃̑͒̈͂͜͝͠͝ ̴͚̝̊̂͐ͅg̵̡̜͈̬͚͈̮̈́̕ͅŗ̴̤̫̠̰̠̀̒̌͛́̀̈̚͝ó̶̟̪͕̪͉͕͍͎̄͘͝ẅ̷̧̢̻̩̞͔̦̙̜̫̈́̔̄̇͝t̶̨̛̯̟̮̫̦͍͌̆h̶͑͆̇͂̅͜ ̴̻̬̙͂̊̂̆̔̎͊̂͠͠ỉ̵̡̤͚̼͆̌̇͂͆̍͒̋͝ͅf̷̫̞̗̫̺̀͆͐̚͜͝ͅͅ ̶̨̪̟̠͕͇̪̩̫̱̀̃̂̈͘͝ň̸̠̊̿͗̃͘e̸̥̰͇̦͍̜̱͇̪̹̾̈́͊͐̌̇̚͠ä̵͖̺̪̣̤̅͊r̷̡̗͉̥̯̈́̓̈́̑̐͠͠b̴̬̠̬̽͋͂̏̀́̋̕͜͝͠y̷̢̢̪͚̫̰̞͍̫̘͂́͛ ̸̳̦̓͋̏e̵͚̬̘͋͐̆̐̈́̏̈́͝ͅá̸̧͚̱̤̪͍̝̀̔̏̕c̴̨̙͉̾͒̇͆̐h̵̯̼͓̯͌ ̴̛͚͉͕̯̫͚̠̤̐̈́̿̓̄̓̓̂̈́ö̷̺̣͍́͝t̸̟̩̯͕̖̟͓̜̮͆̋͌͘͝h̴̨̡͇̻͆̾͊e̴̛͓̼̱̳̤͊̾͒͆̂͠r̵͚͖̼͙̬̔̈́̊.̶̛̣̳̭͈̪̣̰̌̅̑̀́͂̒̕͝ͅ]̸̨̨͈͈̺̟͍͙̈̈͗̉.̵̮̭̎̾̓́̊̏̆̈́̄̏̾̃̕͝]̵̢̨͚͔̝͇̈̓̑͊́̌̂͂̎̆̋͐̎  
[Attention]**

Naofumi couldn't read it.

It was too glitched for him to read it. He could make out _some_ of the words such as 'Heroes' and 'Weapons', but he couldn't make anything outside of that. Though, that was only because he was expecting those words.

He glanced over to Ren, trying to see if he had any troubled expressions about the help menus, only to remember immediately that it was _Ren_ he was referencing and he wouldn't have known based on his conservative reactions. Though, he wasn't _saying_ anything about it…

Since Itsuki and Motoyasu didn't look like they were checking themselves, Naofumi tried to troubleshoot himself. Perhaps it was just a personal problem as he rubbed his eyes, thinking it was his mind playing tricks on him and tried looking onwards again.

[**Attention]  
[Cardinal Heroes are highly advised to fight separately. The Holy Weapons will experience adverse effects of growth if nearby each other.]**

'_S-Seriously?_'

This time, he could read it perfectly, but that oddity stuck out within his head.

"Well, damn. It really is here," Motoyasu sighed defeatedly. Naofumi quickly frowned, realizing that Motoyasu probably didn't notice the glitched text on his own status magic. Though, it didn't appear to be a problematic issue for now, so it was perhaps better to let the issue go.

If it came up again though, he _should_ mention it to his friends, just in case.

Motoyasu's shoulders slumped. "What the hell are we going to do now?"

"Do not fear, Cardinal Heroes," the king announced. "We'll be looking to support you throughout your journey of strength. You are the key to our future, so we will provide you with a steady start. Rest easy for the day, and I shall bring you a selection of excellent party members to accompany you on your journey tomorrow."

"I… guess that isn't too bad," Itsuki scratched his head. "Certainly better than starting with nothing."

Ren made a quiet sigh under his breath, almost like that offer had been a pain in his eyes. No one else except for Naofumi looked to have caught it though, but that was probably because he was right beside him.

"Are there any more questions for our wise king?" Lothringen asked.

Everyone shook their heads as Lothringen nodded to the king.

"Excellent, but know that if you have any more questions, please do not hesitate to ask Sir Lothringen or I. Of course, when we are not preoccupied." The king tapped his golden cane like how a judge hammers a grovel to dismiss a court case. "Then if there are no other concerns, I wish for the heroes to rest in our prepared guest rooms. The attendant will bring you over to your—"

_*BANG*_

The doors behind them crashed wide open, causing the friends to jump in their place. They spun around to see that there was a single man, dressed stylistically and differently in comparison to everyone else, foot kept in the air to make it obvious he had just _kicked_ it open. The two knights that were guarding the door had been lying against the wall, knocked out.

Naofumi heard a quiet slap on someone's forehead, clearly exasperated.

The man with the loud entrance had slicked-back hair, draping a long ponytail down his spine. He stepped forwards, as an eye-catching golden strand of hair stuck right out from his bangs. His clothing had been what Naofumi would have described as a ronin, excepting dropping anything formal about them.

"Oi, _Captain_!" The man that looked to be ranging mid-twenties of his age boisterously laughed. "You thought the news wouldn't reach my ears! Unfortunately for you, I'm pretty good at finding things people don't want me to find out!"

Naofumi quickly glanced at Lothringen to see that the knight had been pinching his forehead in frustration.

"Now that the king has given his salutation, allow me to give my own!" Dramatically, as if it was a soliloquy on a stage, the man had shouted out. "Welcome! Cardinal Heroes! I welcome you four to the land of Melromarc! You finally arrive, just in time for—!"

"_I, the Captain of the Melromarc Knights, am the source of my power._"

Naofumi heard crackling behind him as a cold whisper crept up. Turning back, Lothringen had electricity surging around him and it looked almost wild, but still controlled in a paradoxical manner. His hair had been ruffling as he held one hand towards the brazenly-entered knight.

"Wait, hold on! Captain, it was a jok—!"

Ren frantically pulled Naofumi to the side, immediately noticing that his friends had already pushed themselves out of the way. It didn't look like they were in the pathway, but Naofumi knew it was probably safer than sorry.

"_Quickly strike forwards, radiant energy. _[Zveit Lightning Bolt]."

In a split moment, a precise and narrow stream of electricity emerged from Lothringen's hand, flashing across the room in an instant. It was one of those 'blink and you would miss it' moments and it was flying right towards the intruding man. Even Ren couldn't have tracked it in time, but nevertheless, it looked as if the man had reacted in the nick of time.

He drew a sword from his waist and slammed it against the lightning bolt, but the exploding strength had been enough to send him flying backwards and off his feet.

There was an open window conveniently behind the man.

It sounded like he was trying to say something, but the falling voice escaped from Naofumi's ears.

The throne room remained silent as Naofumi, Motoyasu, Itsuki, and Ren couldn't exactly comprehend what just happened. It seemed unreal, as much as unrealness could get in their circumstances, but Naofumi was rather certain that all of them were thinking the same thing right now.

'_... What just happened_?'

Lothringen made a sigh and turned towards the heroes.

"Deepest apologies. He is… _a very special knight_, and we will leave it at that."

Naofumi didn't know what to be more surprised about—the fact that the man had been a knight or that Lothringen just pushed him out of a window with electricity. Lothringen's words didn't even hold any remorse or any other sorrowful emotion. To the group, it looked like he just casually killed a guy and didn't even bat an eye to it.

Hell, he didn't even hesitate to do it!

"With that intervention of of the way—"

'_The king is actually moving along, treating it like it was nothing!_'

"—may the attendants guide the Cardinal Heroes to their rooms. There will be a feast for your summoning later today, so be prepared for another attendant to call you down to the banquet hall."

Naofumi nervously looked at his friend, seeing that both Itsuki and Motoyasu were bothered by the rather _strange_ turn of events. Ren didn't flinch, but Itsuki could tell that he was rather restless. Either way, it looked like they were the only ones that were taken aback by the seemingly random occurrence.

"... Are we just forgetting about what happened?"

"Please do," Lothringen answered immediately.

* * *

**)**—**(**\\\IV/**)**—**(**

* * *

Each considerably vast room had been neatly prepared in terms of cleanliness and aesthetics. The beds were large and fancy nightstands were positioned beside it. On the far side, there was a chair that stood between the nightstand and the window.

Light had still been radiating from the sky as sunset was nowhere to be seen yet, but once the sun came down, surely the chandelier on the ceiling would provide more than enough luminance.

On the opposite side of the room, two couches sandwiched a table—both came with a white coat with a golden and purple finish, while the table's surface was entirely glass. There was also a balcony on the far side of the room that would have taken them to a wondrous view of the city.

"_Dibs._"

Motoyasu's single word was followed as he leapt into the bed.

They decided to shack up together for the time being to debrief among themselves. Naofumi and Itsuki sat on the couches while Ren stayed standing up, leaning against a wall.

"From what I've seen from the castle, it looks like we've got tossed into medieval times crossed with the whole leveling system shenanigans," Ren said. "I'm betting that there's magic here too from what the status magic tells us. We should be lucky that we don't have to heavily adjust ourselves if they have electricity and plumbing."

"Is that _really_ electricity?" Naofumi glanced up at the chandelier. "A world of magic hinders technological advancements. Our world never had any magic, so we needed those technological advancements to further ourselves."

"Ah, I don't think I care enough to worry about those things!" Motoyasu childishly stretched himself out on the bed, almost sinking into the fabric. "Well, you know what's on my mind!? Man, these beds are incredible! I've never felt such a soft mattress. What type of cotton is this!?"

"I don't know, Motoyasu," Itsuki answered. "It actually looks like it's stuffed with feathers."

"Really _soft_ feathers, damn! I want to know what animals have such an exterior!"

"So, Motoyasu aside," Ren coughed to clear his throat, drawing everyone's attention, "has anyone noticed what the hell's going on here?"

"... _Wait, what do you mean, 'me asi_—'?"

"Uh, obviously," Itsuki scoffed, unintentionally cutting Motoyasu off. He acted like he knew the answer on the back of his hand. "We got summoned into another world as the main characters, going off to find their fame and glory upon their victory! There's no way that I _wouldn't_ know what's going on!"

Ren blinked at Itsuki silently, turning over to Naofumi.

"So, Motoyasu _and_ Itsuki aside—Naofumi, have you noticed yet?"

"Are you talking about how similar this situation is with _The Records of the Holy Weapons_?"

Ren nodded. "Yep, that's it."

Itsuki widened his eyes in disbelief.

"Seriously, we got sucked into a book!?"

Smirking to Naofumi, he snickered. "Thank goodness _someone else_ was paying attention to what was going on, tying together what the king was saying with—"

"Oh no," Naofumi shook his head humbly, "I just looked at the weapons we were holding and even then, I didn't fully realize it until I saw the 'Status Magic'. Everything else just fell into place and I just made the assumption. If Motoyasu never made that offhand comment about shields, I wouldn't have remembered at all. In fact, all the other details of the book seem a bit foggy to me."

Motoyasu threw up a peace sign at Ren, as if he was teasing him.

Ren started to have a crisis, burying his face in one hand. "_God, I'm surrounded by idiots_."

"But still, this entire thing is off putting to me," Motoyasu said, pulling up his status. He sat back up properly, using the bed as his seat. "We've been sent into a book that… has a system for a game? Does this mean we're in a book world or game world right now?"

"I… I don't _think_ the book said anything about this," Naofumi tried to recall. Frankly speaking, he was only summarizing the story within for his friends; he hadn't been paying much attention to it at the time, so only bits and pieces were able to return to him.

Ren alleviated himself and started moving his hand outward, rolling it in unnatural manners. "Well, it doesn't feel like anything from _Brave Star Online_, but if there's an entire stat system attached here, I can only assume that there's _some_ method of gaming that should be attributed here. Movements are a bit more free compared to our world though."

"Maybe," Naofumi suggested, "that's the Status Magic working on us? I do feel slightly more durable than usual."

"Perhaps. There's probably _some _effect on that on us if there's things like agility stats."

"Anyways, I wonder if the narrative for the story is going to be anything exciting for us." Itsuki straightened his back at a sudden thought. "Wait, maybe that's why the pages were blank! So that we couldn't have spoiled ourselves about this incredible experience!"

"That… seems a bit…"

Naofumi wryly smiled at Itsuki's theory, but Ren had intervened, glancing at Motoyasu. It was as if the atmosphere shifted from one step to another, skipping a few inbetween.

"Okay, enough of the tangent. Now, spill what you know, Motoyasu."

"Huh?" Motoyasu looked back, not knowing what he meant.

"If we agree that this world is similar to _The Record of the Holy Weapons_, then it's obvious, right?" Ren asked rhetorically. "The girl that gave you the book in the first place has something to do with it. She's not normal and has to be related to our summoning somehow. Who the hell is she?"

Itsuki tilted his head. "Wait, what girl?"

"Yeah, there was a girl who gave me that book as a gift." In the background, Naofumi started to think that his friend passed on a gift that he didn't want, but he was trying to savour the feeling without holding anything against him. It only made sense from Motoyasu's perspective. "Again, I wasn't a reader, so I handed it to Naofumi. She was… _Huh_?"

"What is it, Motoyasu?"

Motoyasu had blanklessly blinked.

"... I can't remember."

The three other guys in the room frowned with skepticism, slathered on their expression. Motoyasu held onto his head, as if he was trying to keep his thoughts together.

"I... _actually can't remember_!" Motoyasu was just as distressed as, if not more than, his friends. "Who _was _the girl who gave me that book? I don't have a name or an image that I could call back to! I can't even remember if she's shorter or taller than me! That's the easiest part! She's drawing a blank in my head!"

"Y-You're kidding, right?" Itsuki gasped. "Motoyasu Kitamura doesn't remember the face and name of a girl? Especially one that gave him a gift? Has hell truly frozen over and the moon fallen into the earth?"

"Either that or something _fucked _is going on," Ren deduced. "Something tells me Motoyasu didn't forget upon his own choice or incompetence."

"What's actually going on here…?" Naofumi mulled.

The four heroes sat in the room with their heads linked up on the single case, but one of them decided to tap out before the minute even ended.

"You know, enough about that. We should probably take it easy now," Motoyasu exclaimed, lying back onto the bed. He looked like he quickly recovered from the dilemma rather well. "Enough with all this brainstorming since we can save that for another day. There's a banquet coming up for us and meant for us, so we should probably kick back and relax." He started smiling at his friends. "It's a party! C'mon! It's not like anything is out to hurt us here since we're the legendary heroes."

"_Yet,_" Ren added. "You can never be too sure."

"And you see, this is why you're the resident party pooper."

"Well, that sounds nice. Kick back and relax, huh?" Itsuki was already on board that train. "Don't mind if I do."

Naofumi glanced down at his shield, grimacing at the future. "Sorry, I can't help but to be anxious. Of course, I am excited to be in this fantasy world, just like how some of those light novels start out, but this is the real deal. Maybe I wouldn't be feeling this if we were staying together, but…"

Naofumi glanced at Motoyasu's spear, Ren's sword and Itsuki's bow. He disliked the reason that they were going to be separated, especially in this new environment, but it wasn't as if he could do anything about it. Naofumi had to simply deal with it and hope it ends up alright.

"What are you getting all emotional about, Naofumi?" Ren scoffed. "You're acting like this is going to be the last time we see each other. You've heard them, right? We fight against the waves of destruction as the Cardinal Heroes, and I'm presuming that we're fighting together. If it's dangerous like they advertised it to be, it's better if everyone kept tabs on the other."

"Then why don't we make a promise?" Motoyasu leapt off the bed and glanced at his friends. "It'll be a promise to meet up at the first wave—"

"_Second wave_," Ren corrected.

"—second wave of destruction," Motoyasu continued without breaking. "When we meet up, we fight together as the team that we should have been if this stupid rule of experience wasn't in place."

"I'm down," Itsuki smirked. "It's in a month, right?"

"Yeah. Once, maybe—I'd like to fight by your side, everyone," Naofumi smiled.

"Why make a promise like that?" Ren sneered. "We're all meeting up at the site of the waves anyways. Whether we want to or not, we're fighting on the same side."

"Then let's put our hands together on this one! A promise to meet up!"

Motoyasu extended his palm outwards as Naofumi and Itsuki glanced at each other, both standing up to meet their friend's gesture. It was one of those huddles where everyone would put their hands in the middle and count a cheer down; typically, Naofumi would see them at sports competitions before the game started.

Ren hadn't walked forward.

"C'mon, Ren! We're waiting on you."

"I'm not doing something stupid like that. As long as you don't intentionally kill yourself, we're all meeting at the wave."

"Then we're literally just going to stay here until you do."

Three sets of eyes glanced over to the brooding teenager enough to the point where Ren sighed defeatedily and walked up with dropped shoulder.

"Fine, fine. If you're not going to move until I join, so be it."

With Ren's hand reaching the overlaying center, Motoyasu counted down.

"Three! Two! One!" The middle exploded, as everyone threw their hands outwards.

"Go, Cardinal Heroes!"

"Wait, I thought we were making a promise." "Yeah, we're heroes now!" "God, this is so uncoordinated and unplanned."

Motoyasu awkwardly looked at Naofumi, Itsuki, and Ren as they chaoticly went to do their own thing, but Motoyasu ended up laughing out loud. Both Naofumi and Itsuki realized what happened and they started to chuckle too. Ren didn't break, but the mood was so light, he managed to get a smirk on his face.

Even though they were the heroes now, they were still the same people as they were back home, for better _or for worse_.

Naofumi felt refreshed, getting that laughter out of him, but he also felt anxious for the days or even months ahead of him. He had read similar stories about these situations, but there were always clear differences between fiction and reality.

He just hoped that it wasn't going to be a difficult adventure.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 002 : State of Summoning**

[Motoyasu] : "Now that's out of the way, how long do you think I can sleep for?"

[Naofumi] : "Until they come get us, I guess."

[Ren] : "We're in a different world, and you decide that you should be sleeping?"

[Motoyasu] : "Hey, I still haven't rested from my midterm to party celebration combo! And collapsing from that book made me slightly tired too! Especially when there's a heavenly bed right in front of me, how could I not think of sleeping!?"

[Itsuki] : "Motoyasu has a point. We should rest up before the banquet tonight."

[Ren] : "You all can do whatever you want. I'm not feeling tired, so I'm going on ahead and seeing what the menus reveal in order to help ourselves."

[Itsuki] : "Ah, wait. Ren's got a good point too. I'm not feeling _that_ tired, so I guess I'll help Ren out."

[Naofumi] : "I think I'll be more appreciative if I get started on leading the basics here. I think I'll stay up with Ren."

[Motoyasu] : "Ah, you three are boring! Grab a chill pill sometimes, stretch your arms out, take off your shoes, and sink into the beds!"

[Motoyasu] : "... Wait a minute."

[Naofumi] : "Huh? What's wrong, Motoyasu?"

[Motoyasu] : "... Has anyone else noticed that we've been summoned without our shoes? Everyone just had their socks on, right?"

[Naofumi] : "... H-Huh… Y-You're right."

[Itsuki] : "I didn't even notice that!"

[Ren] : "... Well, I noticed. I would be an idiot to not notice walking throughout the hallways without shoes. I was… just waiting to see when one of you guys said something about it, since it didn't really bother me."

[Motoyasu] : "Oh, obviously Ren noticed! We should probably ask for some shoes then. Wouldn't want to be walking around or showing up to the banquet in our shoes!"

[Ren] : '_... They must never know._'

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**


	4. Chapter 1-03 : Melromarc Introduction

**)—|(\IV/)|—(**

* * *

The group went and compared their stats while they waited, fiddling with the menu information at the same time. Not only had they discovered the use for all the menus, but Ren explained that the entire vision is basically the user interface of _Brave Star Online_, right down to the health bar in the upper left corner.

Naofumi, out of the four roommates, had been the least involved with video games, so everything had gone over his head. There were a few occasions where they've gotten Naofumi to briefly join their gaming sessions, but he would frequently tap out before the fifth hour could come. If anything, Naofumi had been much more interested in the visual novel sub-genre of games rather than anything that the other friends played.

However, Ren and Itsuki didn't know if his lack of knowledge was a blessing or a curse, given the current circumstance. They always said that ignorance was bliss, but if it came to a situation like this, the bridge would have to be crossed _eventually_.

"Sorry, but could you repeat that, Naofumi? _What_ did you say your attack stat was?"

"It's one. It's the number next to 'attack' thing, right?" After spelling the abbreviation that appeared in the status profile, Naofumi raised a single finger to Ren's concern. "It says that it's one."

"... Are there any other numbers?"

"No, it's… it's just the number one. Well, other than the ones for the other stats. Defense looks pretty high in relativity. Anyways, is that bad?"

Ren had his own menu popped up in front as he spoke and he could tell that Itsuki had been doing the same, checking up that the situation had been truly dire for Naofumi. Honestly, he didn't even need to know the exact numbers of his stats; all he needed to confirm was that they were double digits.

He took a slow, deep breath as he could hear Motoyasu's contained snickers in the background. "_Okay_. Naofumi, you might have a problem." Ren sat Naofumi down on the other side of the table. "Actually, scratch '_might_', cause you _do _have a problem. You can't _hurt_ anything."

"W-Wait," Naofumi frowned, raising his eyebrows, "so how am I going to kill monsters?"

Ren and Itsuki glanced at each other with a depressed look for their friend.

_Someone_ had to tell him and Ren went to do the job.

"... You don't."

"WHAT?" Naofumi stood in bewilderment.

"I mean, you could always try to use a different weapon," Itsuki suggested. "See if that helps out."

"Then let me try and see if that sword Ren's holding—"

"Both of you, that's not going to work," Ren said, shaking his head. "First, I _literally _can't let go of my sword. Apparently, it has to stay on my body at all times, so I can sheath it and stuff, but I can't throw it, drop it, or even let someone else use it."

Suddenly, Naofumi felt better about not being able to take off his shield. Not being able to release a sword sounds slightly worse.

"Second, there's a help menu that concerns that same question." Ren opened up his own menu for a reference. "Should be at the third submenu or something like that."

Naofumi navigated the 'Status Magic' with better ease. He was definitely getting more used to controlling using his mind than accessing them with an invisible mouse clicker.

**[Attention]  
[Cardinal Heroes cannot use weapons other than the assigned Holy Weapons with the intention to fight.]**

"... What do I do now?" Naofumi groaned, collapsing into his seat.

"Hope your allies are good at killing, I guess?" Ren shrugged. "You can still get experience if you fight alongside a party member, so it's pretty lucky of you that the king is deciding to hand us people to assist us. I would have rather gone off by myself though."

"I almost forgot about that," Itsuki chimed in. "In _Brave Star Online_, you were a solo player. You always fought by yourself and even if you joined up with a party, it was for a short time."

"But then again, I wouldn't know what the hell I would do if I only had a single attack point."

"See? I told you, Ren." Motoyasu rolled onto his stomach, facing up to his friends at the table. "Shield class players are always the weakest. They get the short end of the stick every time." He swept off the bed and stood behind Naofumi. Even though his words stung, Motoyasu patted him on the shoulders in comfort. "Don't worry, Naofumi. We'll carry you whenever we can. That's what friends are for!"

"That's rather reassuring," Naofumi exhaled a relief. "If I can hang on until the waves, it'll be home free if you three can help take care of it."

"Naofumi, you're not seriously trying to get the easy way out, right?" Ren asked. "Sure, you can rest easy when the entire thing drops, but you need to at least pull up your own weight."

"Motoyasu said the shield class was useless."

"Motoyasu is _also _questionably retarded."

"I'm standing right here!"

Ren leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and ignoring the background complaints from Motoyasu and pleading for him to calm down from Itsuki.

"Anyways, don't think the shield class is useless, just because someone said so," Ren instructed. "Even in _Brave Star Online_, those equipped with shields were the foundations for large scale boss fights. Without them, there's no one to draw attacks and take heavy strikes with their defense oriented builds. Players like me would get one-shot. _But if they were like me, they wouldn't be dumb enough to get hit._"

Naofumi nodded. It was a bit difficult for him to wrap his head around it, but he supposed nothing good would come if he doesn't at least put in some effort into his side of the scale.

"Wait, what was that last part?"

"_Nothing_."

A sudden knocking at the door came to save Ren before Naofumi could inquire any further. Motoyasu, despite standing up already, didn't hear the knocking, but as Ren was about to tell him to go open it, Naofumi had already stood up and went to the door himself.

Ren glanced out the window to check the approximate time. There was nothing concrete, but he was guessing that something large as a banquet wasn't going to occur when the sun was still up. It felt more like a sunset or evening party, so he could only assume it was someone else.

"Who is it?" Naofumi asked, opening the door.

"How's it going, you four? It's nice to see you four again."

As Ren and Itsuki listened into their friend's conversation, Naofumi was taken by surprise when he realized who was standing in front of him. Naofumi thought of him as a ronin, but his outfit was much more detailed than that.

He wore a simple pair of white pants that commoners used while it was lined with two belts, crossing each other. There was the specialized long sleeve underclothing that wrapped around his fingers and an elbow-sleeve jacket that exposed his chest's skin, with a crest on the breast pocket. The jacket had split their ends into two just before it reached his feet, leaving a gap in between.

The only piece of armour he had were the steel-toed boots that were toned to his thematic colouring. Compared to Lothringen's outfit, it was certainly wild and if he never said anything, Naofumi would never have guessed that this man was a knight as well.

However, there was something Naofumi noticed.

He had _too_ many weapons on him.

Two daggers on his hips, two broadswords crossed with a katana and a giant zweihander on his back, a rapier and saber nested on his belt, and more knives inside of specially-made pockets on his jacket. It was almost as if he was mocking Naofumi for only having the shield, but the bright smile was enough to convince him otherwise.

However, there was something _else_ that Naofumi noticed.

He had no injuries despite the lengthy fall.

"A-Are you alright?" Naofumi found himself asking immediately. "It looked like Lothringen knocked you from a far drop…"

"Only my feelings were hurt, that's all." The knight had sulked to himself. "The good Captain sent me out a window and when I returned to him with the notion that he wanted to fight, he dismissed me away. Why the hell would he tease me with combat if he's not going to go through with it?"

'_... What._'

"But man, that kick really takes me back! I remember the first fight I had with the Captain where he was going all out and one of his attacks, he wrapped around me and landed a solid kick on my back! It was so intense and I reveled in every single moment of that fun! The Captain was a bit tough though, so he eventually laid the smackdown on me, but I also wanted a rematch!"

'... _What._'

"Sorry, that was a tangent, but I'll properly introduce myself." The man energetically stood straight and clenched his right fist, pounding his thumb into his heart. "The name's Zellus Clarent! Don't forget it! I'm one of the knights of Melromarc's forces, codenamed [Sword Demon]! It's a great pleasure to meet the Cardinal Heroes!"

"W-What brings you here, Zellus?"

"I failed at commiting a high-priority murder and was eventually forced into the knights. That's probably the short form of how I got here."

"W-What!?"

Naofumi immediately flinched, but Zellus raised his hands in surrender.

"_I'm kidding_, I know that's not what you meant." Zellus laughed with a big smirk on his face. "I'm here because I'm bored. Nothing is going on with the knights right now and I'm currently 'off duty', so I thought it would be nice to swing by the rooms of the Cardinal Heroes to say hello. Also, don't tell Lothringen that I was here, because I'm supposed to be on duty."

"O-Oh, thanks. It's... nice to meet you too, Zellus." Naofumi didn't know how to partake in the forward nature of this person, but it wasn't as if he was at a total loss for words. He had a few friends just like him, only lessened by a few notches.

"I hope I didn't scare you four or anything. I was really excited to meet the Cardinal Heroes; that's all!"

"I guess we're a big deal here, huh…"

"Saying that it's a big deal may be underestimating how much of a big deal you four are. To be blunt, you have actual religions that were formed to _worship_ the Cardinal Heroes!"

Naofumi couldn't even fathom the idea of even a single person worshipping him. The thought that a community did so felt unreal, but considering the state of the prophecies, it wasn't as if he could have doubted it. It _did_ make sense to hail the ones that helped save the world after all.

"Though, I'll be real with you. I'm honestly not interested in the whole religion fiasco."

Zellus smirked and threw his fist into his other hand. "From what the legends say, the Cardinal Heroes are one of the strongest warriors that stepped on these lands. To be living in the same era as when they were summoned is a blessing," Zellus cracked his knuckles, rolling it within the hand. "Since I'm a knight, I'll be seeing you four in action on the battlefield and thinking about that is getting me fired up already!"

"I-Is that so?"

"H-Hey, what's going on?" Motoyasu asked, pushing off the bed as Naofumi took a step back, making Zellus to let go of the shield. Zellus still popped his head into the room and waved towards the other heroes. Motoyasu was immediately in shock. "W-Wait, you're the guy that got shot out of the window!"

"_Buzz_," Ren groaned. "Too slow. Pay attention next time."

"I-Is he okay!?"

"_Nope,_" Itsuki continued the pattern. "That question has already been answered. Try another one."

"O-Oh… Uhm…" As Ren and Itsuki denied Motoyasu's basic reactions, his surprise began to die down a little as he searched for questions to blindly ask that hadn't been responded to yet. "_W-What are you... doing here_?"

Ren merely shrugged when Motoyasu looked over to him, awaiting approval.

"Right, I shouldn't get sidetracked. Sorry, let's get straight to the point! Hopefully." His upbeat attitude was almost contagious from his announcements. "I overheard that the king was throwing a banquet for the four later tonight and you'll be setting off with your new companions tomorrow after breakfast. In that case, I feel like this is the _perfect_ time to give you four a tour of the castle! It's a pretty big place and you might get lost if you mindlessly wander around."

"A tour of the castle?" "That sounds really fun!"

Both Itsuki and Motoyasu jumped into the midst of the conversation, approaching Naofumi and Zellus.

Ren kept to himself, but eventually stood up and followed the group. "We have nothing else to do and since we're the Cardinal Heroes, I can expect that we'll be returning to the castle on various occasions. It's not like they publicly hand out maps for royal castles."

"All you had to do was say you wanted to come along, Ren."

"Shut up, Itsuki."

With his friends lined up behind him, Naofumi nodded.

"Alright, thanks for the offer. Please lead the way, Zellus."

* * *

**)—|(\**IV**| Chapter 1-03 |**IV**/)|—(  
)\\( Melromarcian Introduction )/(**

* * *

As Zellus led the way, Motoyasu glanced over at all of the things that were either hung up or displayed out in the castle hallways. Paintings of all different kinds selectively placed on walls while statues and suits of armour were off the side of the corridor. There were even some relics underneath glass displays, making it seem more like a museum then an actual castle.

"The Queen's a slave driver when it comes to it and really, I just wanna scram off every time I get a feeling she's dishing out an order," Zellus groaned as the group walked down. He was rambling on about his service during the knighthood as they passed some of the unimportant rooms. "I'm lucky I have a way to ditch any of her insanity. All I have to do is call in a few favours and I'm out, but it won't work all the time. I remember one time that—"

In any case, Motoyasu couldn't contain his awe as the others tried to keep themselves conscious through Zellus' ramblings.

He slowed down as the others went on, noticing the bust of a beautiful woman. She looked young and right down his alley as he looked closer at the name etched into the wooden stand. He couldn't read it, but he thought it was the lighting. His hands reached onto the podium to try and get a better perspective on it, but instead of reading it, a shout came from down the hall.

"Wait, don't touch that statue!"

Zellus caught Motoyasu in the middle of reaching for the object. His friends gazed backwards, not knowing what the hell Mtooyasu was trying to touch a bust in the first place. Either way, Motoyasu froze and snapped his neck to Zellus.

"W-What? What happens if I do!?"

"S-Sorry, let me explain, but get your hands away from that statue first. _Please_. Captain Lothringen would kill me if he found out I was involved with triggering that."

Motoyasu slowly pulled back his hands as he went back to the group.

"Huh?" Ren scrunched his eyes. "Triggering? Was there a bomb there or something?"

"Might as well. Look, this castle was made with the probability that it might be raided sometime in the future. Melromarc wasn't in a good state back then, since another country was the one reigning with power at the time. That's why the architects of this castle designed it in a way where there were traps and secret passageways where they saw it to be fit. Some of them have been readapted and discontinued, but there's always a few that've been kept for security measures."

"That… doesn't sound pleasant," Naofumi noted.

"It's part of the knight's job to memorize where each trap is, especially if you're assigned the trivial task of guard duty—blessing to some, but I'd argue that it's bad luck if you do—but there are small markings on the ground if any soldier forgets."

Zellus pointed along the floor at a specific part. The group looked and noticed a small ledge that wasn't a tripping hazard, but it was still visible to the knowing eye.

"Most invaders wouldn't even see these indents normally. They would be too busy raiding that place to see something off about the flooring. And if they do have the knowledge, they couldn't be damned to slow down since they're being flanked by defending knights."

"Wait, so how many traps and passageways are there in the castle?" Ren asked.

"You've stepped through about ten traps already during this tour, not counting the one your friend tried to activate," Zellus answered without hesitation. The four heroes widened their eyes when they heard the number, thinking that it was overkill.

"And what trap was Motoyasu about to activate?" Itsuki asked, almost like he didn't even want to know the answer.

"Pitfall to death. I believe there's spikes at the bottom, but I don't remember," Zellus answered casually. "Well, your deaths would be certain, not mine, since I can tell that you don't have much experience. It'll catch invaders by surprise, at least."

"You can _tell_?" Ren had taken slight offense to Zellus' words. "How?"

"Your body's shape," Zellus said, tapping and showing his bicep hidden under his clothing. "Regardless if you have the knowledge of fighting or even if you have the stats, your body doesn't have the shape to properly wield your weapons. You haven't gone through the proper training. You can boister the highest stats in Melromarc, but they're meaningless if you don't have training or experience and you'd fall flat into the trap."

Zellus took Ren's hand, surprising him and faced his palm upwards.

"Look, you're actively fit, sure, but your hands don't look like they have held a sword ever in your life."

"T-That's…" Ren stammered, as Zellus chuckled at Ren's gasted attempt at rebuttal. "Look, I know how to _swing _a sword. I have the knowledge of it. It shouldn't be that different!"

"And it's people like you that give up after their first real battle." Something about Zellus' whimsical voice had pissed him off, as Itsuki was trying to hold back his laughter. "Don't worry. You don't look like someone that would be easily pushed down."

"Damn right, you are!" Ren firmly exclaimed.

However, Zellus' response had been different than what Ren was expecting. It was as if a light bulb turned on above him. "You know what? I got an idea. Sword Hero, come with me!"

Zellus' hand transitioned into a tight grip onto Ren's arm as he tugged the hero behind him.

"W-What are you doing!?" Ren screamed.

"We're making a straight line over towards the soldier barracks. The rookie knights should be around there at this time!"

"W-Wait!"

Motoyasu, Naofumi, and Itsuki couldn't do much except to stare at the amazing scene that unfolded before them; their brooding friend was panicking as he was literally dragged down the hall.

In other words, they could have helped—they simply decided unanimously and silently agreed that they wouldn't, even with all of Ren's indistiguishable cursing violently lashing out for all who knew were involved.

"Have fun, Ren!" Motoyasu waved at the struggling friend who instinctively flipped him off with the hand that hadn't been caught.

Though, Naofumi was increasingly nervous for the friend. "U-Uhm, maybe we should follow Zellus, just in case something happens to Ren."

"... Yeah, we probably should," Itsuki answered. "The man is an expert when it comes to holding grudges and we should probably do something that will ease it… _Probably_."

* * *

**)—|(\IV/)|—(**

* * *

Ren found himself on the ground the next moment his consciousness returned.

Grunting a resolved pain, he dusted his clothing from the makeshift soil and staggered onto his feet. He swore to the heavens, whenever he was going to snap, he'd remember this moment and move Zellus up the list of people he'd need to kill out of spite.

They've entered the barracks; Zellus had thought it was a good idea to get everyone's attention by throwing somebody into the area.

The group of knights had been either sparring with each other, tending to their weapons, or sitting around, but the moment Zellus made the scene with Ren, everyone stopped what they were doing and glanced over. Ren would have gotten a better glance at them too, but Zellus pushed his head down, treating him like some sort of kid.

"Sir Zellus?" One of the knights had voiced a worried concern. "What's going on? What's this teenager here? Is he a new recruit?"

"Technically speaking, yeah. He's the Sword Hero." Zellus smugly smiled as he gestured to Ren to copy a hand waving motion. "_Say hi to the nice knights, Sword Hero_."

"_Piss off_."

The unexpected response from who they perceived as one of the Cardinal Heroes made all of the knights look at each other nervously. However, it wasn't as if the words were enough to push them away. The scowl imprinted on his face was probably the nail of the coffin that prevented any of the knights from approaching.

Motoyasu, Itsuki, and Naofumi rushed into the barracks, catching up quickly with their friend.

"Oh, and _the other Cardinal Heroes_," Zellus offhandedly introduced them before energy returned to his voice. "Listen to my words today, all ye' rookie knights! I bring to you a special event! Something that is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Before I can start, I'll need a _volunteer_!"

Absolutely none of the knights raised their hand.

Absolutely none of them made eye contact with Zellus.

Absolutely _all of them were sweating_.

Motoyasu, Itsuki, and Naofumi looked at each other, all thinking the same thing.

'_What the hell happened here?_'

"Thanks for volunteering, Ake!"

Naofumi didn't know which knight had been volun-told, but it was quickly easy to discover who it was. Blanched expression, increased relative sweating, and an attempt to run away before two of his fellow knights betrayed him, stopping him in his tracks; Naofumi felt bad for the young knight for some reason, seeing him freak out like that.

After his allies threw him into the shark tank, the knight named Ake tightened his helmet, straightened his armour and held his breath. "Y-Yes! I'm present, Sir Zellus!" Stumbling over his words, Naofumi only felt even worse for the nervous knight. His salute was much too shaky. "W-What do you want me to volunteer for!?"

"Nothing too big," Zellus announced. "All I need you to do is…"

…

"..._imgoingtodieimgoingtodieimgoingtodieimgoingtodie…_"

Ake had been shaking in his armour at one side of the field, as two of the nameless rookie knights helped calmed him down. They couldn't change the situation much, but the moral of the story is that they couldn't say that they _didn't try_. Perhaps it was their way of apologizing for trapping their friend, but it felt like one of those 'take one of the team now, and the next few lunches are on us' moments.

Ren stood on the other side, readying his sword by throwing out a few slashes to catch a feel for his weapon. It was heavier than what he expected, but it was completely within his caliber. He'd only wished that the sword was lighter, so he could fight with his normal style back in _Brave Star Online_.

He glanced over to the nervous knight, sighing in a terrible mood. He was going to feel bad about beating this guy up, but he needed to vent out a bit on a target.

Apparently, the knights were divided up into four main levels. The entrant level would be the rookie knights and once they've shown the qualities that the kingdom is looking for in the ideal force, they would be promoted to a regular knight.

However, it was possible to be further promoted to a high knight, if selected by the council of Melromarc and if the knight is able to pass the high examination. Alternatively, if a knight is personally selected by one of the royal family, they are promoted to a royal knight, once again only allowed if they pass the high examination.

And ultimately, there were the captains of Melromarc's knighthood, granted to knights in special manners and only when their loyalty is proven absolute to the kingdom. Lothringen had been one of them and stood with the highest position among the three existing captains.

Each higher tier reigned greater than the previous in hierarchy and power, and thus, the lower ranks must give their respects to their seniors. Given that Zellus was a high knight, his orders were high up there, but since it doesn't directly come from a captain, there was no reason to ultimately follow his words.

"Though, if we don't follow today, it's going to be _tomorrow_. Even though we already have a few combat instructors, Zellus is one of the unofficial ones."

"Ouch." Itsuki sympathized with the knight sitting with them on the bench. "Wouldn't want to be you, but I can see how that's hell if this is what you have to deal with everyday."

"N-No," the knight shook his head. "It's just one of those days that come every so often. On the other days, it's something like an ingroup joke. Normally, Zellus is a great guy, great personality. He's a blast to be around and he's always helping the rookies get better at swordplay if they want to improve, regardless of what type of sword you want to use. He has knowledge of basically all sword styles and excels at them, so he's an adequate teacher. However, there's a reason why he's not a proper instructor for rookies."

"What's the reason?"

"His curriculum is _super_ brutal. Not only that, he sometimes comes in with some of the _most absurd_ requests for training exercises, like… _this_ one. Rest in peace, Ake."

"How would you know if Zellus is coming in with one?" Motoyasu curiously asked.

"The trigger word is '_volunteer_'." The knight shuddered the moment those words left his lips. "Truth be told, some of the regular knights sadly think this is part of the rookie initiation process."

"Yikes. What a reputation."

"Yeah, tell me about it."

Meanwhile, Naofumi had been conversing with Zellus as they stood in between the scared knight and the Sword Hero like a referee. He glanced at Ake and back towards Ren, as did Zellus himself; both of them looking on for entirely different reasons.

"Don't you see that he's utterly afraid?" Naofumi pleaded. "Maybe you should call this match off."

"Don't be ridiculous, Shield Hero! Conquering fears is what makes a knight more resolute! If he can't trump them, then how will he be able to face these sudden dilemmas on the battlefield!?"

"Zellus, you're _smiling_."

"Yeah, _okay_. It's pretty fun to do this to rookies, but my argument still holds true!"

Naofumi knew he couldn't convince Zellus to stop the fight, so he gave his silent condolences to Ake and walked back over to the bench. The nameless knight scooted over to give Naofumi the seat next to his friends, as he silently thanked him; he responded accordingly.

"Told you it was a lost cause," the knight mused next to Naofumi. "Once Zellus wants to do something, you really can't stop him. Especially not in our hierarchy. Really, I've only seen Zellus respect the orders to Captain Lothringen and occasionally, Lord Aldrecht."

Alongside the heroes and the remaining rookie knights, they watched on as Zellus decided to raise his arms. Murmurs started to spread among the rookies, all interested in seeing what Ren had been capable of, but they all led to the same conclusion; Ake was going to get clapped. It was a matter of how long he'll stay in there for; that had been the central topic among the spectators.

"I'm here to oversee the duel between Ren, the Sword Hero, and Ake, the blooming rookie knight!" Zellus stole quick glances at both fighters. "Are the combatants ready!?"

"Pretty much."

"HELL NO! Please let me—!"

Zellus swung both hands downwards, ignoring Ake's screams and roared his boisterous tone.

"And let the duel begin!"

**[Attention]  
[You have been marked with [Anti-Status Magic (Absolute)].]**

Ren raised his eyebrows, not understanding the random menu pop-up that showed up in front of him. He rubbed his chin, trying to make sense about it, but noticed that his health bar had been glitching out. His confusion bore no fruit or rotten tomatoes, as no one moved.

Glancing to the hesitant knight, he made a reluctant sigh.

Zellus and the supporting knights emptied themselves from the dueling ground, but Ren didn't make his approach towards the rookie at all. In fact, he merely walked over until he was in speaking range to the knight. He was probably only a year or two younger than him.

"Hey! You!" Ren reached his voice out. "I know you don't want to do this, but the faster you crawl out of that shell of yours, the faster this can be finished!"

His words appeared to have some effect on Ake, but as he took in his deep breath and opened his eyes to face the Sword Hero, he immediately got hit with another wave of fear. His body trembled even more, despite Ren saying only words of encouragement—really, it was just haste.

Ren noticed the shift of intensity, groaning in his frustration. He was close to just attacking the damn knight and getting this all wrapped up already.

"What's going on with that knight?" Motoyasu asked.

"Don't know," the acquainted knight answered. "Ake is usually never this nervous before. Maybe he can't handle the thought of fighting the Sword Hero?"

"It's Ren," Itsuki immediately answered. "He got hit with Ren's 'first-meeting' passive. People are naturally repulsed by Ren's terrible attitude without even giving him a single chance."

"That's a thing?"

"Not really, Naofumi," Itsuki shrugged. "It's only something I started to notice whenever Ren kept meeting new people. Did you feel anything when we first met as we moved into the apartments?"

Motoyasu pondered and hit that realization. "Now that you mentioned it, I _did_ feel incredibly nervous when I first talked to him! I just thought that was me!"

"Really?" Naofumi tilted his head. "I don't exactly understand what you're talking about. He felt normal the first time I met him."

"Well, I guess you're a special case, Naofumi."

Ake managed to recollect himself through more deep breathings as Ren waited for the young knight to be finished with his mental exercises. However, there were only so many times that he could breath in and out before Ren became irritated at the wasted time.

"S-Sword Hero!" Ake stammered once again, but his voice had been clearer than before. "M-May I have the opportunity to hear your name before we start?"

"It's Ren Amaki."

"W-Well, Sir Ren!" Ake drew his sword and nervously readied both of his hands onto the handle, pulling directly in front. "I-I'm going to try my best here, according to Sir Zellus' wishes. I ask of you to not be too disappointed—"

"Stop making excuses," Ren sighed. "Come when you're ready. I'll give you the first strike, but don't keep me waiting."

Ake was slightly taken back, but found the might to nod.

"Y-Yes, Sir Ren!"

Ake kicked off from his position and sprinted towards Ren. His sword was lingering away from the approaching opponent while his shoulder was aimed forwards.

The knight's sword wasted no time in closing the gap, but Ren's expression never changed. He stepped out of the way and started evading all of the follow-up attacks. Everytime Ake made an advancement, Ren would watch carefully, matching his footsteps with Ake.

He threw out reckless attacks in quick succession, but Ren kept the distance between them the same throughout. The slashes would always be out of reach. The knight was working up a sweat, but from what it looked like as a spectator, Ren was playing with him.

About ten attacks must have been sent out already; none of them belonged to Ren.

'_His attacks… are really predictable…_'

Ren prepared his sword and drew it forwards, but his attack count didn't go up. He decided to start blocking some of the sword strikes and just as he avoided them perfectly, he defended against each of them. There was almost a rhythm to the sound of sword against sword, vibrating through the air.

The way that this match was heading in, it really seemed one-sided.

"W-Wow…!" Naofumi's jaw dropped. "I didn't know Ren was good at fighting with a sword!"

"He's probably replicating his experience from _Brave Star Online_," Itsuki noted. "Despite the young age relative to the average demographic, Ren's one of the best players in the game. Out of all the combinations that we could have been summoned with the holy weapons, Ren being summoned with the sword is one of the best cases for us since that's his primary weapon in the game."

Motoyasu chuckled. "Then I guess we really lucked out!"

"But he hasn't taken a single attack yet," Naofumi noticed. "Does that mean Ake is doing a good job?"

"Nope, Ren's not attacking on purpose," Itsuki responded. "He's trying to figure out the knight's patterns and movements. In _Brave Star Online_, he tries to uphold a three-step rule. Watch the enemy, understand the enemy, then act on openings or exploitations. Works on monsters, works on players."

It was true; Ake couldn't find a way through Ren's defense, trying to quicken the pace of his slashes. His body was still shaking, perhaps even more considering the hopeless situation he was thrown into, but as his speed slugged on, Ren twirled his blade and saw the opportunity.

Without another word or another beat, Ren started his own attacks, hijacking Ake's barrage to make his own assault. It was a clean reversal; Naofumi and Motoyasu didn't realize Ren started attacking until he landed a heavy strike against Ake's sword and pushed him away.

Ake took the moment for a breather as his lungs scratched the inner surfaces. He hadn't had such a difficult time in the knighthood until this moment. In fact, this was his first time being volunteered by Zellus, but his fears of being selected were all in the right.

The Sword Hero hadn't been holding anything back and even if Ake was a novice, he didn't want to let the Cardinal Hero believe that this was what the rookies were made out of. They may have been the weakest out of the hierarchy, but they had heart and determination.

That's what the young knight believed, wiping off the drenched forehead from his sweat.

As Zellus watched the duel carefully. "Ake, you should take some pointers from the Sword Hero!" he shouted. "Don't waste all of your energy at the beginning! Use the first few clashes to get an understanding of your opponent! You can still savage this fight if you control your breathing and take things steadily! Don't let the Sword Hero control your fight!"

Ake nodded, heavily breathing. "Y-Yes, sir!"

However, Ren extended his arm out and ran to close the gap. He pulled his sword to the left as Ake went to block it; Ren didn't commit, since it was a feint. He spun the opposite direction and kicked Ake's back to throw him off, pressing further with more slashes.

The rookie was having a significantly harder time, unable to maintain the fight's rhythm to his own pace; Ren was mixing up real attacks with feints and Ake couldn't tell which had been what. They all looked the same to him, but one of the feints caught him and he was kicked in the stomach, sent flying onto the ground.

Ake quickly stood up, but Ren had already been performing an overhead slash. Ake instinctively brought his sword upwards to block it, but didn't realize it was another feint.

Ren aborted the attack and leaned backwards, swinging his feet upwards in a crescent. Catching himself with his hand, he flipped over and nailed a kick right into Ake's chin. The painful shock ran through the rookie knight's body as he fell on to the ground, dropping his sword.

Ren somersaulted back onto his feet and pointed the tip of his blade at Ake.

"And that's the match!"

Pulling his sword back, Ren glanced over as Zellus walked up, clapping his hands with a content expression.

Both Motoyasu and Itsuki ran onto the scene of the duel, both talking to Ren about how amazing his movements were and the expert combat skills that he came into this world with. However, Ren was more curious about his health bar.

It looked like it returned to normal the moment Zellus called the duel off.

He'd imagine it had to do something with dueling. Back in _Brave Star Online_, two players of different levels could choose to have a proper duel; in fact, tournaments were done in the formal manner. However, to keep things fair, players were set to Level 50 for the duration of the duels. Though, it wouldn't explain why he couldn't see the health bar anymore, so he simply kept the matter in mind and moved on.

However, Naofumi walked over to the rookie who had been somewhat dazed on the ground.

"_Gah… That really hurts…_" he could hear him mumbling.

"Hey, sorry about Ren. Let me help you up."

The knight caught Naofumi in his blurry vision and tried to move his body. His strength hadn't exactly returned to him though, but Naofumi was made aware.

He slid his hand underneath Ake's back and wrapped his arm around his neck, lifting the rookie up on his feet. It was difficult for Ake to move since it looked as if Ren _really_ sank his attack in, but it wasn't enough for the knight to lose his consciousness.

"_S-Sorry about the inconvenience, Shield Hero…_" Ake said, as if it was his fault that he was defeated.

"No, you shouldn't worry about it," Naofumi smiled softly. "I should be the one apologizing for my friend. He didn't hurt you too much, did he?"

"Hey, hey." Two knights walked up to Naofumi and gently stopped his pathing. "Let us take our comrade, Shield Hero. We'll probably take him to the medical bay before anything else happens."

"Please."

Naofumi transferred the young knight over to his allies as each of the knights brought an arm over their necks. They started walking out of the soldier barracks as Naofumi looked at their backs, hoping that Ren didn't do anything too serious against the fledgling knight.

Before they could leave, Ake broke apart from the knights and staggered to his feet by himself. He looked over to Ren as he was talking with Itsuki and Motoyasu, drawing his attention.

Ake performed a bow. "T-Thank you for the fight, Sir Sword Hero! I appreciate the—_Grah_…!"

Moving his head too quickly caused him to carefully collapse onto the ground—though, he would have if his comrades hadn't been there to catch him. They quietly laughed at the young knight's earnest personality and carefully escorted him outside of the training grounds.

Ren sighed, hearing those words and muttering under his breath.

"_Don't even thank me for something you got roped into_."

Zellus turned towards the other presiding knights and shouted towards them. "Alright, recess is over! Get back to your daily training or whatever you all were doing!"

As prompted, the knights dispersed from the audience and Zellus walked up towards the group, finishing up with dealing the knights. The sound of swordplay was starting back up again in the background as Naofumi regrouped with them as well.

Zellus started to applaud. "Well done, Sword Hero! That exhibition match was wonderful! I know that you'll be a great swordsman one day!"

"... _It wasn't anything_—"

"C'mon, Ren!" Motoyasu slapped Ren's back as he made an irked expression. "Just take the compliment! It's not going to kill you!"

Ren closed his eyes, turning his face away from friends and knights alike.

"_... Thanks, I guess._"

"And with that, I guess the castle tour is over," Zellus announced. "I've taken you to pretty much everywhere I could take you on an unauthorized tour! I really hoped you enjoyed it."

With those words, Ren immediately started walking out to the exit.

"Ren?" Naofumi noticed his departure first. "Where are you going?"

"Back to my room before Zellus decides he wants to throw me somewhere too."

Naofumi chuckled, but knowing Ren, he was probably dead serious.

"I guess we'll take our departure now."

Itsuki did a polite bow for Zellus as did Naofumi. Motoyasu looked at the two gestures and reacted accordingly, following their actions in a panic.

"Thanks for the tour, Zellus."

"No problem! Just let me know if you need anything else, alright!? I'm always happy to serve the Four Cardinal Heroes!"

Itsuki, Naofumi, and Motoyasu collected themselves and promptly left towards the exit. Zellus watched as they took their steps and finally took the corner away from his sight, but when they did, his friendly smile fell into a sigh.

Even though the soldier barracks had quite the number of rookies remaining in it, none of them seemed to have noticed his dark expression. It felt too whimsical for them to even recognize that it was an entirely different shift of attitude from the usual high knight.

'_And so, it begins. The battle that's been waging in silence for ten years is starting to unfold within their hands. This will be interesting. I wonder what that old man is planning, convincing the king to pull off a summon like this._'

However, his eyes narrowed as the thoughts began to collect themselves.

'_Though, something feels off about the Cardinal Heroes. They're acting too closely for people who had just met each other hours before. What's up with that oddity?_'

* * *

**)—|(\IV/)|—(**

* * *

The sound of tea pouring into a cup was the only thing that could be heard from the king's personal quarters. The herbal scent had drawn itself all over the room as two old men were sitting with a table between them and a chess game under way. A crown was set aside on one side of the table, not to be the focal point of their conversation.

Aldrecht had placed down the teapot, brewed with his own special blend, as the king took his sip into the delectable and refreshing beverage.

"You've done it again, old friend," the king smiled. "You constantly amaze me with how far you've taken your personal blend. Every time I thought it couldn't be better, you continue to exceed expectations."

"It's nothing special, Aultcray," Aldrecht mused. "I simply find excellent herbal mixtures as I do for my research, theories, and experiments; you propose an hypothesis, test it out, and make your conclusions. I merely deliver you the best and only the best."

After the king had made his move, pushing a pawn upwards two spaces, Aldrecht glanced at the field to survey the possibilities that his friend had been striking with. However, it was much too early to determine an absolute answer. However, he could deduce that the king is focusing his strategy revolving around the rooks and the knights—in what manner, he could not say.

"Lothringen had informed me that you would come to speak to me about the summoning ritual," the king mulled on, watching Aldrecht's hand hovering over the pieces carefully. "I hope that there isn't too much of a problem, Aldrecht."

As Aldrecht moved his knight over the pawns, he reached for a small journal in his cloak. The book was important as it contains scribbles of his thoughts and theories regarding his academia. He was reaching an old age, so it was rather helpful to jot down the spontaneous ideas whenever he had the chance.

Aldrecht opened it and stopped on a page; there was a drawn diagram with the rest of the page being filled to the brim in writing. The king knew that this wasn't something light, given how much writing there was made in the given amount of time.

"I'll get down to business," Aldrecht said, articulating his words carefully. "The summoning ritual appears to have some faults."

If Aldrecht had mentioned something with such confidence, then it had been basically certain that it was an occurrence given the information his friend had uncovered. Aldrecht had effectively been a high scholar in magic research and one of the best in the field, even compared to the likes of the country of Faubley.

Well, they both _were _originally hailing from Faubley.

Nevertheless, the king was deeply concerned.

"I don't understand. Were the Cardinal Heroes not summoned to the castle properly?" the king asked. "There are four heroes and I counted four heads in the throne room, just as the prophecies foretold."

"Yes, they were. For all intents and purposes, the Cardinal Heroes were summoned to the castle. However, an oddity has occurred. As we speak, the ritual remains ongoing."

"Elaborate further, my friend," the king imposed. "I don't think I quite understand what you are trying to say."

"Visually, the circle used for the ritual has seemed to be finished. Even to the trained mage, there would seem to be nothing left worth investigating," he explained, flipping over a page. "However, the altar still had remnants of its magical source still active. It bleakly lingers, to say the least, but the importance here is that it is still alive. A single spark is all it needs to continue its session from my hands."

"Are you saying that there are more heroes?" Aultcray couldn't hold his surprise. "There only exist the four! They all stand within our castle confinements at this very minute!"

"And that is what I do not understand." Aldrecht flipped through his journal a couple times, scanning through the littering spaces of possible explanations, written up in matters of time.

Nevertheless, it was clear that he was hung up on this mystery. "I did attempt to reignite the summoning circle multiple times. However, as I did, the summoning ritual immediately broke off. A flash of light, but dying within the same flash. Each and every time, and yet, nothing."

"What do you think about this?"

"Something is blocking the remainder of the ritual, Aultcray." Aldrecht closed his book, treating his thumb as a bookmark. "That is the only explanation as to why it is not completing. If I had any liberties, I would say that the summoning had only been a fourth of the way finished. It acts as if only one hero, and only one, has been summoned."

"I thought Biscas gave us a good catalyst for the ritual. He mentioned that it took some time to get the catalyst into their hands."

The old mage caught the image of the holy man in his mind, though he was hesitant to even call Biscas as such. As much as a reputation as the man had, Aldrecht knew there was more going on underneath the surface.

Biscas was the leader of the Church of Three Heroes, namely as the Pope. He helped guide his congregation, using the past Cardinal Heroes as teachings for the devout followers to attend to and lead themselves into a prosperous life. It was a religion that praised the Sword Hero, Bow Hero, and Spear Hero. It traditionally left out the Shield Hero, but some sects have started to integrate some teachings, using the Shield Hero as a counterexample.

Needless to say, he has quite the history with the royal family, having to be a politician on his religion's behalf. Even before he became pope, Biscas was already known personally by the two old chess players in the room.

"Do you not believe that Biscas might have given us a faulty catalyst?"

Aldrecht remembered the odd relic that his friend had handed to him, shaped mysteriously yet brimming with magic potential. It was consumed the moment the ritual began, but he still had his doubts on the circumstances around it.

"I looked into the catalyst you provided to me before the ritual and I found it quite unusual. I am aware that the result had been what you desired, but I'm afraid that there might have been a secondary effect—rather, I should say _consequence_—to using that catalyst. If it weren't for my observations, no one else would have noticed."

"Are you saying that Biscas intentionally sabotaged his own idea?" Aultcray frowned at Aldrecht's implications, though the old mage would have loved that to be true. It would have made this entire situation all the more easier if the Pope had stubbed his toe on a rock that he placed.

Unfortunately, the Pope was much craftier than that.

"I don't want to be rude to our former comrade of war, but from what I can see from this incident, it's one of the possible hypotheses that I've concluded. A third party must have interacted with the summoning ritual and the most obvious case to consider would be the catalyst."

"Aldrecht, Biscas has been our ally ever since the Siltvelt War. We've been in his favour as much as he has been in ours. Those damned demi-humans would have gotten our heads if it weren't for his assistance. I don't think he'd want to pull something like that over our own heads."

"Aultcray, disregard anything surrounding all pretenses and consider our current circumstances, the very same that I wanted to avoid. We'll only look at what we have on hand right now." Aldrecht tapped his fingers on his cup before picking it up, watching as his friend made his advances on the board. "We have the power of the four holy weapons on our side, but the other countries are not going to be pleased at this fact. Reports from the queen to Noches mentioned that countries would have been dividing up the heroes for an equal share."

"And we've swooped all four before the other countries can do a thing about it," he nodded. "I will admit that the original intentions from Biscas might have seemed ludicrous at first, being nothing more than a chance when the stars align themselves, but I have to admit that there is some reason in what he speaks of."

"Surely, you've thought about the consequences about snagging them from as discussion pieces for the queen at the conference." Aldrecht took his sip of his tea, letting the soothing aroma ease his tentative mind. "They won't allow this to slide unattended and I'm sure that they will try something against us."

"We have the power of the Cardinal Heroes! What is there to fear!?"

"_Heavens_, you weren't paying attention to a single thing I was telling you before you received the catalyst." Aldrecht, obviously displeased, sighed as he laid his teacup back on the table and made his next move. He moved his knight outwards into the fray.

"I apologize."

"Apologies do not turn back time, Aultcray. If it could, the entire war would be gone."

"Though, I still don't see the mistake in doing so. In fact, I'm more surprised that history hasn't told us of an incident where the heroes were summoned into one location."

"Because as you say, it is entirely ludicrous. No ruler in their right mind would wish to do such a thing." Aldrecht leaned forward, trying to make the message clear. "In terms of military strength, it is one of the more favourable tactics to pull off if done correctly. And regarding past history, it allows us to keep a closer eye on the Cardinal Heroes from the very beginning, especially the Shield Hero. I can see the positive in that, but I believe the negatives weigh more here. Politically and diplomatically speaking, you've ruined the peace and trust that you and Mirellia have built up since the war."

The old king grimaced, tapping his feet slowly against the ground. That patter was what kept the ambience from rolling into an awkward mood between them.

"Thinking about it," he finally said aloud, "I suppose it is reasonable to see it like that…"

"I'm surprised you didn't think about this more, Aultcray. As the presiding power within Melromarc currently, I expected you to have thought about these things more clearly before suddenly insisting me to initiate the summoning ritual. Especially when your wife entrusted this role to you while she is away."

"It shouldn't have much of a—"

"Aultcray, you've single-handedly placed your wife and second daughter in danger."

He stiffened when Aldrecht decided to stop beating around the bush. Frankly, he wanted Aultcray to come to the realization by himself, but if he was becoming persistent that this course of action was the correct one to play, it was much better to break the foundation before a shell is made.

"They are not within the confines of Melromarc and are susceptible to potential assassinations planned out in retaliation for the summoning. For all that the representatives could see, Mirella could have been the one masterminding the ritual and sending her to death's keeper would be their message to give to all who follow."

Aultcray had been speechless, but Aldrecht went on.

"Not to mention that the young Melty is by her side. And without her own royal knights by her side, she is much more in danger compared to your wife. We can only pray that Captain Irisa and her knights will be able to ensure her safety. If needed, we'll send Captain Alexander to meet with the queen when he returns in a few weeks."

"Why didn't you bring this to light earlier?" Aultcray's voice was restless. "Perhaps I could have brought these details up when Malty had told me she supported the idea."

"After your meetings with Biscas, I didn't believe that you were intent on undergoing the summoning ritual! You told you about how much of a bad idea that this was and you were agreeing with my points. I didn't think I had to mention anything else, but unfortunately, you suddenly came back with the catalyst and essentially tossed it to me. At that point, you were pleading with me to make it a success and ensuring that you had a plan in mind. What was I supposed to do at that point?"

Aldrecht's unintentional rant came to a sudden halt when he realized what his friend had just said.

"... I'm sorry, Aultcray. _What_ did you just say?"

"Why didn't you bring this to light earlier?"

"No, not that. After that."

"That Malty told me that she supported the idea?"

And suddenly, everything made sense.

Aldrecht sincerely wanted to stand up and shake his friend back and forth for a solid minute. Unfortunately, one of their bones would probably dislocate if he had tried to do so. They weren't exactly young anymore, but his feeling of exasperation was still met with a disappointed sigh.

"You changed your mind after Malty said that she wanted to have the heroes summoned into Melromarc, didn't you? Consequences be damned, all of the finer!?"

"If Malty wanted to meet them, there's nothing I would have done to go those lengths, my friend!"

It was tempting to disregard any elderly injuries; Aldrecht _really_ wanted to shake him up right now.

"There's such a thing as 'too much' and there are limits to how much a parent can be doting on their child. Realistically, I'm starting to see why Mirella believed that starting over with a second child was ideal. Obviously, I don't entirely agree with her methods, but you're not making a finer case for yourself, Aultcray."

"If Malty believed it was a good idea, surely it must be one!"

Aldrecht felt like he was hitting himself against a brick wall for the umpteenth time in his life. Whenever it came to his daughters, Aultcray suddenly became a blockhead and insisted that their way should be taken, much to his advice.

'_Aultcray, please…_'

Though, Aldrecht couldn't exactly shake off his old friend's smiles like that. He made a promise to be by his blood brother's side when they were young and he wanted to ensure that his happiness would be secured, but when it was the apparent happiness that was blinding him to make irrational decisions, Aldrecht wondered what course he should have taken.

Obviously, the first important matter would have been to talk about Malty, the first daughter.

That meant he couldn't talk about the prevailing problem to someone who didn't see her as a problem. He may have been a good friend, but there's only so much of his words that can penetrate through Aultcray's stubbornness.

_It was quite a nuisance._

Honestly, the entire matter would have been already dealt with if only Aultcray could see what he had seen. Could he blame his friend for pursuing what made him happy, if it came to the cost of his wits unknowingly to himself?

If he was in his friend's shoes, he'd be cursing himself to hell.

"We've gotten off track from the reason I called you here," Aldrecht sighed. "I simply have suspicions on the catalyst provided by Biscas and I thought I should let you know that."

"Biscas did tell me that the catalyst took time to uncover and all they knew was that it had enough potential to bring upon the summoning ritual. I'll ask him to see if they can figure out more information about that, but I don't think it was on purpose."

He highly doubted that.

"I'll see to it, but I'll also be continuing my own investigations."

In other words, he didn't believe that he'd get anything else out of Aultcray's interactions with Biscas.

Frankly, he didn't even trust the origins of where Biscas had claimed. One doesn't randomly stumble across a relic with as much power inside like that and he noted that the catalyst looked like it was already being cared for.

If anything, it felt like one of the relics that a former ally had used on the battlefield against Siltvelt.

"So you will continue looking into the summoning ritual?"

"If it wasn't the bad feeling I have about this, it would have been the scholar within me that wanted to inspect every detail as to why this did not go as I foresaw." Aultcray took his time, proceeding with his move as Aldrecht spoke. "It shouldn't be entirely dangerous from what I can see, but you can never be too sure. I'd like the area around the altar room to be closed off until further notice."

"Consider it done. I have great trust in you, Aldrecht." Aultcray released his grip on the pawn as he smirked. "I'll only ask you to seek out sunshine once in a while. Your basic needs sometimes get forgotten in your quest for knowledge."

As Aultcray laughed, Aldrecht could only smile bitterly.

He would have loved to laugh alongside his friend, but his mind was still trailing behind in the conversation.

"I will try to, Aultcray."

As they finished their conversation, they came to refocus back onto their game.

Once a match had been started, it was a sin for either of them to stop until a victor was determined.

It had been the simpler times like these that brought their memories back to when they were in their primes—on the frontlines, fighting against the forces of Siltvelt in their goal of domination. Every so often, Aldrecht would fancy a game of chess, their favourite game, with Aultcray to keep spirits up.

"While I have the opportunity, may I ask about how the meeting with the Cardinal Heroes went?"

"For all intents and purposes, they are exactly like the rookie knights. They certainly have potential and remind me of our days back when the war had just begun. I believe they will serve well as the Cardinal Heroes." However, a scorn rushed onto Aultcray's expression. "However, the Shield Hero—"

"Aultcray, please." Aldrecht's stern voice interrupted those thoughts. "We're already in hot water because of the summoning ritual."

"But—"

"_Please_ do not make a move on the Shield Hero." Aldrecht was trying his damndest to let Aultcray know that all of this was already a bad idea; he didn't want there to be anymore bad ideas. "If something happens to the Shield Hero under your authority, there's no telling what the hell Siltvelt and Shieldfreedan might do in retaliation on top of the already-made aggression."

Aultcray clicked his tongue, as Aldrecht tried to subdue that hatred.

"I agree that the Shield Hero is a figure that's fearful of Melromarc, but this mistake must be converted to a positive. If we can keep a close eye on the Shield Hero, we can guide his growth and attitude towards your country." Aldrecht sighed, seeing the prattering of his friend's fingers. "If you're afraid of trusting the Shield Hero, don't be. Just have him by the leash and act good with him; I'll deal with everything else regarding that in your place."

Aultcray averted his gaze.

"... It's not as if I had anything planned for the Shield Hero."

"Good." Aldrecht felt a weight, not much though, off his shoulders. Aultcray wouldn't straight-up lie to him and his words were somewhat reassuring. "Keep it like that and perhaps this situation can be politically salvaged. We can only hope that Mirella is safe on her end; knowing her, she can most likely get out of this sticky situation. Though, I imagine she'll have to bend her arm backwards for this one."

Aldrecht knew that what is done during this first month of the heroes' coming will determine how everything else plays out in the end. He couldn't stress to himself enough that everything he does must be a proactive move to what Biscas was planning, but that was tougher than he expected.

He wasn't sure as to what exactly Biscas was doing, but he was certain that it was malicious to the King.

Aldrecht was the royal retainer to King Melromarc. Aldrecht was a loyal friend to Aultcray.

If harm ever came to his way, Aldrecht will be unhesitant to crush whatever stood a threat.

A clack hit the checkered battlefield. Aldrecht took his knight to replace one of Aultcray's bishops, trapping the king into a single direction. He was fearful of the move, thinking he might have been playing right into his friend's hands, but it was worth seeing which plan he had been trying to execute.

"Check."

Aultcray merely smirked. He knew.

"Check, indeed."

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 003 : Ramblings**

[Zellus] : "And that's how I defeated that giant monster! It wasn't that easy, even though I made it sound pretty simple. It's one of those experiences that is better left to feel than to tell. One of the attacks had a pretty wide area of effect and if it hit me, I would have become a sitting target! The key to the victory wasn't actually to get to the backside and land a critical hit, but to see if you can outlast the giant monster! Honestly, it was a pretty fun fight! I'd _love_ to go for a round two, but Lothringen told me that I had to kill the damn monster. Something about the creature causing mass panic in the nearby village or something? If it was up to me, the destruction of a village is a _small _price to pay for another round! Anyways, I really don't remember the specifics, just that fight."

[Ren] : "..."

[Itsuki] : "..."

[Motoyasu] : "..."

[Naofumi] : "..."

[Zellus] : "But you know what would be a _great_ opponent to fight? A dragon! From what I've heard, they're one of the strongest monsters to roam these lands, but unfortunately, they're also very rare. I guess other people had the same idea as me and tried to fight them to test their own strength too. Really, that just means I'll have to track down the people that killed the dragons and fight them instead! If someone is able to defeat your target, that just means that someone is obviously stronger, right?"

[Ren] : "..."

[Itsuki] : "..."

[Motoyasu] : "..."

[Naofumi] : "... Z-Zellus? C-Could we… stay focused on the tour of the castle?"

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 004 : Swordsmanship or Addiction?**

[Motoyasu] : "Still, I didn't expect you to be _that_ powerful, Ren! You took down that knight like it was nothing! Granted, he had the rank of rookie, so he was probably new to the entire knighthood."

[Ren] : "And I told you already, it wasn't much of a big deal. His attacks were so obvious and full of holes. If that was a player from _Brave Star Online_, he would have been laughed at. Itsuki hadn't even played _Brave Star Online_ for more than fifteen hours and yet, his attack patterns were more complicated than that knight."

[Naofumi] : "It did seem like you were intimidating him, so maybe he wasn't focused properly. Benefit of the doubt, right?"

[Ren] : "Whatever. It's not like I care about that duel."

[Itsuki] : "Your swordsmanship is still nothing to scoff at Ren. Being one of the best players is nothing small. _Brave Star Online_ was released to the public about four months ago, right? You must have gotten a lot of practice with swordplay there."

[Naofumi] : "Four months ago…? Wait, Ren? I'm curious. How many hours have you clocked in to _Brave Star Online_?"

[Ren] : "... How about I _don't_ answer that question?"

[Naofumi] : "... Okay, let me change the question. How many hours of sleep do you get on average?"

[Ren] : "... Enough."

[Motoyasu] : "Holy _crap_, Ren."

[Itsuki] : "I didn't expect anything else…"

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 005 : Role of Retainer**

[Aldrecht] : "To think Aultcray has fallen from such a peak. He was once a brilliant mastermind, but now look at him. I guess that's where I have to come in and fill his shoes, but that's quite a terrible descent. And yet, Aultcray himself still doesn't think of it as a bane and I cannot condemn him for it. He has a happy life with a wife he loves and children that he adores. Perhaps it is that familial life that has dulled his senses or perhaps it is the peace that he has brought to the land; perhaps it is a combination of both."

[Aldrecht] : "Family… I don't think I can be bothered to think about such a notion, especially with a terrible experience of family such as myself. It's far too late for someone of my age now. However, I'd be lying if I said I dislike being referred to as 'Uncle' by the two princesses."

[Aldrecht] : "Perhaps that's the familial energy striking my weakness, but I still cannot allow that mysterious force to hinder my mind. _Especially_ when the threat to Melromarc may approach at any moment. Where my dear old friend has been blinded, I shall give him my eyes without hesitation. Where my dear old friend has not pieced it together, I shall be the one that already has a plan lined up for him for when he does."

[Aldrecht] : "_That_ is my true role as his retainer. _That_ is the true reasoning of my existence."

[Aldrecht] : "To serve, support, _and protect_ Aultcray Melromarc the 32nd. _No matter who I must face and what I must do_."

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**


	5. Chapter 1-04 : Midnight Meeting

**)—|(\IV/)|—(**

* * *

Part of Aldrecht's job as the king's retainer is to filter out the paperwork that the king would have needed to sort out himself. Even if it hadn't been part of the job description, Aldrecht would still come to help his friend out. As a king, there was much he had to do, but if Aldrecht could help lighten the load, he would.

Well, he did promise his friend that he would settle this entire matter.

After the king won their little chess match, he returned to his work. Aldrecht thought to himself in his personal quarters, looking at the applications of the adventurers on the desk.

Ideally, they would organize adventurers into four even groups, but there were many possible options for their selection. Background checks had to be made with the adventurer's guild for those hailing from that organization while liability and skill checks must be tested for those of noble descent that wish to accompany them. He needed to ensure that the heroes had competent allies.

Thus, Aldrecht decided to lean towards handling the adventurers. Most of them were all hard-working folks whereas the noble children might treat the position as a luxury more than an important mission they must undertake. Their decisions would influence the relation between the heroes and the country, reflecting almost as the selected representatives.

Twelve party members, divided evenly for each hero, might be enough. Although there was much to uncover, everything was already set up. All that was left was to compare and contrast, keeping the ones that he believed would do an adequate job. Since the adventurers were already filtered out by the guildmaster who had been a friend, it was basically a search for the cream of the crop.

However, his door was suddenly kicked open.

It would have given the old man a heart attack if he hadn't been used to it, but that wasn't an excuse to not be ready for combat. In the low possibility, it could have very well been an enemy, but once he noticed the familiar outfit, he dropped his guard.

That _certain _knight never really understood what knocking meant.

"Do that more and I'm afraid you'll be breaking the hinges of my door. Since they're sturdy, they're quite expensive to replace and I'll be sending you the bill if it ever does shatter into pieces. I hope you understand that, Zellus."

"Of course, of course!" Zellus pulled the door once he entered with his foot, swinging it back to a closure. He spun back around, smirking as he held the back of his neck. "Feel free to pass me the bill! The salary of a high knight is way more than what I can spend! I usually just source them all into alcohol, weapon management and savings anyways!"

"That's not the point I was trying to make. _Do not_ break my door, Zellus."

"It was a joke, Aldrecht. Lighten up!"

"In a time like this? We'll be in grave danger if I don't take any of this seriously." Aldrecht sighed, frowning in Zellus' contrasted content. "Disregard the entire political stance with the rest of the countries and all of this would end up less of a headache and more of a night's sleep. This was something I rather not have wanted to happen, but I digress."

Zellus sat down on one of the couches. He kicked back casually, as if this was his home, but was careful not to mess up any stuff. He kept up his amused attitude the entire time.

As much as Aldrecht was a researcher, he was quite organized as everything had their rightful place in the room much to the public belief that researchers were ironically messy. Papers were always stacked neatly in drawers, books were always on the shelves, and his small little tea brewery was off along the side of the door, recently used as the mage's cup steamed on the desk. The only thing Zellus would say is messy are the blackboards that Aldrecht would always write on when thinking about his research.

"Anyways, you have perfect timing as always." He stopped on the current application. "I need to inform you of something."

Aldrecht pulled out a specific application he set aside and threw the paper across the room to the knight. It sliced through the air quickly, but Zellus was able to catch it regardless. He turned it around, reading what it was until he realized what it was.

Zellus made a small chuckle.

"That's funny. I don't ever recall applying to be part of the hero's party."

"That's because I'm the one who made that application."

In front of Aldrecht had been the paperwork for the other candidates from the knights.

Zellus mulled to himself, looking back at his own application. It had his picture on it and written there had been scribblings of information. For example, it would tell what class they were in, what type of skills and magic they had in their pockets, and what their current level was.

More importantly, it contains the background of the person in question. He guessed that was probably a good thing to have; Aldrecht wouldn't want a former criminal to be accompanying a hero's party when there were better options.

Zellus silently laughed at his own joke.

"I'm placing a knight within each hero's party, so that we have eyes from within. There's only so much that Lord Noches' informational network can get us and only so much that the shadows can do to keep them safe. It's not as if I don't trust their abilities, but it's better to take extra precautions. We can go about protecting them in another manner, in addition to guiding all of them with more control."

"I thought that the entire summoning ritual was too obvious of a move. There's no other reason than his personal agenda as to why he would go on and summon all four heroes. Especially when he was so willing to have the Shield Hero summoned; that alone is pretty suspicious."

"Precisely," Aldrecht nodded, stroking his beard. "The only issue is how he is planning to involve them. Deductively, he might hone onto the Shield Hero for religious reasons, but I don't want him getting his dirty hands on the other heroes either."

"Right now, we're still in the middle of trying to figure out what Biscas' final goal is and how he's going to do it." Zellus stretched out his legs and turned over his foot. "We've been playing passively for ten years now; I think it's time to finally take our stance. I'm always down to fight."

His response was a shaken head. "Not yet. We can't act hastily. We're not in the position to do so, Zellus." There was almost a defeated tone in his voice. "We have to wait and see how his plan unfolds. Until then, we'll throw up every precautionary measure that we can throw up."

"Yeah, I know. And I'm guessing the old throne-sitter doesn't know anything about this yet?"

"I'll be sending a notice alongside the set of applications with the castle servant. Even if he doesn't see the bigger picture, he can still understand the notion of supplying the heroes with trusted knights. Only then, the high knights that have been approved will be contacted by the king in the morning and be given their proper briefing."

Aldrecht glared at the knight.

"_You included_." He piled back the papers for the knights and returned to rounding out their roster. "In any case, I'll need you to accompany the Shield Hero for the mentioned reasons. He has the biggest target on his back and we can't afford to let anything malicious happen to him, as well as needing to have someone that would properly ease him into our country."

Zellus narrowed his eyes at his application paper, making a subtle pout.

"Why choose me? We have plenty of other high knights on hand that would love the chance to party up with the Cardinal Heroes."

"You are the strongest knight within our reserves. You are the most free-spirited knight within our ranks. It's as simple as that."

Zellus looked back at his application, but sighed heavily.

"Look, as much as I want to raise some hell with any of the heroes, I don't think I want to do it."

Aldrecht's hands slammed on the desk. It wasn't loud, but Zellus heard the annoyed sound loud and clear. "Why _not_? You realize that the greatest pivot point is concerning the Shield Hero right now, and if you don't ally yourself into his party, Biscas' plans might have fruition! The Shield Hero is _important_. Don't be foolish, Zellus!"

"I'm not being foolish." Zellus started folding his application, closing it onto itself. "They probably know my face already as a major threat. Biscas was skeptical of me from the very beginning, Aldrecht. If you want to put Biscas in a false sense of security to test his hand, it's much better to provide the Shield Hero, or any other hero for that matter, another high knight."

Zellus held the folded paper in his palm and crushed it into a ball.

"I thought you didn't want a stalemate, Aldrecht."

"That's true. A stalemate is merely our victory in the short term, but Biscas' victory in the long term." Aldrecht sighed, slumping into his chair. "You're right. Despite my fears, we must try and bait Biscas into advancing his plans far enough for us to catch him in the act. That way, we can show the clear-cut evidence to the king and queen."

"That's exactly my point. If we're playing passively, we might as well not half-ass it and arouse some more alternate, hidden routes. Though, I would be lying if I said that was the only reason for my refusal."

Zellus stood up from his seat and tossed the paper into the air. In a blink of an eye, he unsheathed a dagger and sliced the crumbled paper into hundreds of pieces before he caught all of them with his other hand as they fell down.

"I enlisted myself as a knight to settle down. If I ever let myself go loose again for too long, I might end up being a greater threat to the heroes than the Church could ever be. Fighting and killing is fun and all, but I've learnt that there's more to life than that. I'm not looking to undo that feeling."

"Very well. It can't be helped; if you have the name of a high knight that would like to take your position, I'll reluctantly oblige."

Zellus walked up to the trash can nearby the desk and dropped the shredded paper into it. He walked up to swipe some of the applications from Aldrecht, flipping through the ones that he had prepared. They were probably all taken from Noches' treasury of information since Aldrecht is one of the few people that can extract information from that network without needing permission.

Zellus pinned one of the papers and tossed it onto Aldrecht's desk. In fact, he did it for four knights.

"Those four love and respect the hell out of the Cardinal Heroes. Feel free to mix and match; they'll be happy to help out any of them, even the Shield Hero. Some of them are even better at decision-making than me, so you have that to play with too. And they're pretty strong too, so the Church can't shake them off easily."

"I appreciate it, Zellus. You know the knights more personally than I do; I could barely remember any of them and would highly appreciate it if they wore nametags," Aldrecht jested.

As Aldrecht set aside the selected applications, Zellus slapped the pile of papers back with the rest and started wandering off to the bookshelves.

"I almost forgot." Aldrecht glanced up from the papers and took a sip from his tea. "What might be your reasoning to arrive at my personal quarters, Zellus?"

"I simply wanted to update you on the oddities of the Church. We have shadows on them for extensive amounts of time and it almost sounds like a waste of time, but one of the shadows finally got an interesting report in." Zellus reached into his pockets and grabbed a small crystal ball. "They even got visuals on it and handed it over to me for safekeeping."

"Bring it here."

Zellus placed the crystal ball in front of Aldrecht as the old man started to fiddle with the circuits within for the playback feature. Despite watching every movement, Zellus couldn't keep track of what the hell was happening. To him, it looked like Aldrecht was randomly hitting things.

He never got around to learn how to use those damn things, but that was probably for the best. More time wasted on things he didn't need to know was less time used on combat training and hobbies, but that didn't exactly sate curiosity.

"Why do you always have to make all those tapping? I see that the king and queen would always just tap a single thing and the visuals would start playing."

"I'm only disabling the locking feature. If a person has access to both light and dark magic, they may be able to create illusions and record that into the crystal ball, faking everything that truly happened. That's why, some time ago, I created this locking feature and attached it to every crystal ball in our inventory, to ensure that we see the truth and only the truth behind these images."

"Huh. Sounds complicated."

"The real algorithm and theory behind it certainly was. I had to invoke a whole bunch of counterspells that could be set on automatic, have them pre-written and pre-casted on the balls, while making sure it was difficult to disable it if one doesn't know the formula and ensure that it doesn't accidentally remove the main function of the crystal balls in the first place—"

"_Geez_," Zellus yawned. "Sorry I asked."

"And that's why I don't bother telling the queen and king about that feature and simply allow them to watch the video once the shadows have passed them through me."

Not before long, an image started moving within the crystal ball. Aldrecht leaned forwards to see the clearer picture, while Zellus peered over his shoulder, slightly curious at what was playing.

It presented an overtop perspective of a nun, presumingly someone part of the Church of Three Heroes, meeting up with a hooded figure. Originally, the woman had a disgusted expression, but it was also something of a defeated one as well. Finally, it ultimately turned into a surprised one as the conversation went on, but the audio wasn't as clear as desired.

Crystal balls didn't have much utility when it came to audio, only being effective in extreme short ranges.

The hooded figure finally revealed himself, surprising Aldrecht when he saw the pointed ears on his ear.

"Could that be possibly an infiltrator from Siltvelt?"

"What the hell are the Church doing with those guys?"

As the two people on the crystal ball conversed a bit more before the man placed his hood on again, Aldrecht was rubbing his chin. The image cutted away once they started to walk down the alleyway, entering a seemingly empty building together.

"Perhaps this has to do something with the transition of the religious state?"

"You said that you found it odd how a handful of nuns were starting to preach about the Shield Hero from a month ago. It was clear that they came from the Church of Three Heroes, but the pope hasn't made a single statement about that yet, nor have the Shield Hero been mentioned within the proper ceremonies within the last month."

"Yes, I'm fully aware." Aldrecht placed aside the crystal ball, glancing at it longingly. "I have a theory as to _what_ they might be trying to do, but I can't grasp at _why_ they would do it. This is simply going to be yet another issue that will eat away at my mind."

"Let's just hope that it doesn't end up with anything too big for us to handle," Zellus said, bringing his hands to hold the back of his neck.

Aldrecht merely shook his head.

"Unfortunately, I can _only_ wish for that to be true. As long as we don't know what Biscas wants, I can't begin to fathom the next possible steps with _the exception of a prayer. _And prayers are what we need the least in this predicament."

* * *

**)—|(\**IV**| Chapter 1-04 |**IV**/)|—(  
)\\( Midnight Meeting )/(**

* * *

"More wine, Sir Spear Hero?"

The waiter held the glass bottle before the centralized table, reserved for the Cardinal Heroes, as if they were placed on display for the nobles and guests to see and adore. Motoyasu, as expected, held up his empty glass with vigor.

"_Fill 'em up_!"

"As you wish." The waiter was careful not to spill anything, but once it reached the peak, Motoyasu immediately drank a quarter of the wine and brought it back down to the table. The waiter then turned to Naofumi who he noticed hadn't touched his wine yet. "Is there a problem with the wine, Sir Shield Hero?"

Naofumi waved his hand, smiling wryly. "A-Ah, no! There's no problem with the wine! It's more of my own problem, that's all!"

"I see," the waiter nodded. "Would you like an alternative to wine? We have fresh tea if that is more of your liking. The recipe was developed by Lord Aldrecht."

"Oh, that would be great! Thank you!"

"Yes, Sir Shield Hero. It will only be a few moments."

As the waiter walked off, the four friends revelled in the atmosphere of the banquet hall.

The space was quite wide, much larger than the throne room, but that was to be expected. There were tables scattered all over the room as servants went between every guest to ensure that they are taken care of. However, the heroes were to be centered right in the middle with no other table in close proximity.

Over the words of the noble families and invitees, an alluring song was being played by a live instrumental band, gently to soothe the atmosphere. Itsuki was the one to be more interested, since music was right down his alley. He was even plucking the string of his bow that was wrapped around him, in a similar rhythm to the melody.

Motoyasu and Ren were provided with temporary sheaths, standardized knight equipment, as they sat at their table, enjoying the food as best as they could. Naofumi was the only one that had to deal with his weapon during the meal, but that was more of the issue that he couldn't move it freely like they could.

The meals definitely hadn't been meat and delicacies that the friends had back in Japan, but that wasn't the reason as to why they were eating it much slower than usual.

"You know," Motoyasu happily sighed as he rested his elbow on the table, "when was the last time we went out and ate like this!?"

"I _believe_… it was for my birthday?" Ren searched his memory before nodding. "Yeah, I think I remember it because you insisted so much that we leave the apartment to go to a restaurant that recently opened up. It ended up being easier to agree to go than to argue with Motoyasu's remaining brain cell."

"I remembered trying to get you to go too," Naofumi said.

"You also gave up the moment I said that I didn't want to go."

"Well, it ended up great, I think!" Naofumi chuckled at the memory. "You looked like you were enjoying yourself with the meals, so I'm sure you had fun too!"

"It wasn't anything much, Naofumi. I only acted like that to not ruin anyone's mood."

"Ren, we all know you enjoyed it," Itsuki smiled smugly. "You don't need to put up a brave front."

"You think I'm going to admit something like that?"

"Well, you're not denying it."

"Whatever."

Despite the fact that he was underaged, the waiters still brought out wine for him, coloured in a rose shade. He was drinking it sparingly, enough to not be bothered by the waiter if he was not content with it, but not enough to be asked for a refill. He took another small sip, but he was starting to already feel a bit fuzzy.

"Damn, my senses are already starting to fall apart. Guess I'm a lightweight." Ren winced as he placed the wine down, but looked over to see Motoyasu had already finished another quarter of his wine, chugging it down as he spoke. "That's enough for me. I don't think I want to end up drunk like Motoyasu here."

"I know we're in a different world and all, but should you really be drinking that, Ren?" Naofumi asked.

"I should be fine. I'm at least aware of how much I can take."

Ren immediately glanced at Motoyasu.

"Wait!" Motoyasu slammed down the glass' base onto the table, not enough to shatter it. "I could have _sworn _we've gone out to eat together more than that! Ren's birthday couldn't have been the last time!"

"On what other occasion would I go to eat on my own free will? We already have Naofumi as a chef in our apartment, so it's not like we need to leave. In fact, I'm willing to argue that whatever Naofumi makes in the kitchen is better than what any five-star restaurant can ever produce."

Naofumi blushed at Ren's compliment. "A-Ah, I don't think my cooking is all that special…"

"Ren, you don't understand!" Motoyasu slammed the table again and pointed his finger at him. "Restaurants aren't simply there for the food! The prices are a little higher than what you should be paying, but you're also paying for the experience alongside the meal! To most, restaurants are a social-gathering place and buying a meal is no different than renting a place to hang out with free food!"

"Though, Motoyasu is kinda right," Naofumi followed up. "I'm referring to the part where eating out is like a social gathering, but I feel like we don't do it as much as we should."

"I prefer your cooking more though," Itsuki said. "If we're going to eat food, we might as well eat the things that we most enjoy and a setting where we're most comfortable."

"Yeah, I like Naofumi's cooking too! We should eat his cooking as much as possible!"

"Weren't you the one that just complained about how little we go out, Motoyasu?" Ren groaned. "Talk about two contradictory statements."

"I'm flattered, guys. Really," Naofumi nervously responded with a smile. "But let's not talk about my cooking right now. We're here, attending the banquet that was organized for us in mind. We should respect them and do what they want us to do—to enjoy it, rather than compare it."

"Whatever. I'll see what I can do."

Everyone else laughed in Ren's line, while Ren was left wondering what the joke was.

The waiter came back with Naofumi's tea as he thanked him, but there was someone else that approached them.

"Excuse me," a voice came from behind Itsuki, prompting him to turn around. There was someone of middle age standing behind him with fancy clothes. Immediately, Itsuki assumed he was a nobleman as he continued. "Are you perhaps the Bow Hero?"

"Y-Yeah. I'm the Bow Hero."

"Excellent. Quite the handsome young man." Behind the nobleman, there had been a girl that came out to steal a glance at him, causing Itsuki to flinch at the appearance.

She definitely had the 'daughter of a nobleman' vibe to her, being about the same age as him, appearance-wise. Nevertheless, the nobleman noticed and took a step to present the girl.

"I believe this may be a question out of nowhere, but may I ask you to step aside and have a dance with my daughter?" Her father gently looked over her way in amusement. "She's a bit too shy to ask herself, you see."

The girl's expression lit up in a red blush. "F-Father!"

Right now, Itsuki didn't need to look backwards to know what the reactions of his three friends were. He could tell from the audio alone as there were two distinct noises that were ongoing. The first had been a drunken laughter while the other was the repeated pounding of the table.

Meanwhile, Naofumi was probably taking the scene normally.

Honestly, Itsuki didn't actually know what to do.

No one has ever asked him to dance, much less with their daughter.

Obviously, it would be rude to deny the man's request as a hero, but it would be rude to leave the table as a friend.

"Itsuki, I think you should go dance. I'm sure it'll be fun," Naofumi recommended.

As Itsuki turned to his friends, Motoyasu was still laughing, but the table slamming had stopped, leaving Ren with a serious expression, but his hand was curled up as a fist on the table. Naofumi was smiling for Itsuki's success.

"This could be some good experience for you, Itsuki," Ren smugly added on.

"Oh man…! You should have seen your face when the man asked!" Motoyasu's laughter turned into a big grin. "As your friend—no, as a _man_, I'm telling you that you have to take this dance! You can't be leaving a beautiful lady like that all hung up! It's basically a sin to all mankind to do so! And that's only the first step! If all goes well, you're gonna have to escalate if the girl wants more! Soon, you'll probably lose your vir—!"

"Ignore this pervert. Just give her a normal dance." Ren looked like he was enjoying the event from the sidelines. "It's fine if you're worried about being rude to us. We'll make sure to enjoy it from our end too."

"Who are you calling a pervert, Ren!?"

"A-Ah… I suppose that's that." Itsuki wryly chuckled as he turned back to the father and daughter. He got out of his chair and smiled at the girl. "Then shall I—"

"EXTEND YOUR HAND AND ASK HER, ITSUKI!"

"Hey, Ren? I… I think the alcohol is kicking up a notch for Motoyasu."

"Well, _something else_ is about to kick in if he keeps acting like that."

Itsuki didn't realize that he was automatically following Motoyasu's drunk advice and wasn't even trying to, but he did anyways. He took his hand outwards, extending it towards the girl.

"May I have this dance, my lady?"

"BONUS POINTS! SMOOTH!"

"If I hit him right now, would he remember it?"

"R-Ren, stop! He's drunk! He probably doesn't know what he's saying!"

The girl was ignoring everything that was occurring in the background as the Bow Hero had his hand out for her. She nodded and went to hold it. It was clear from her slight shakes that she was equally as nervous, if not more, to be received a dance from a Cardinal Hero.

"I would be d-delighted and happy, Bow Hero!"

"HE'S GETTING IN, BOYS! GET THE CONFETTI OUT!"

Ren moved his hand onto his sword.

"That's it, I'm clubbing him."

"Down, Ren! Stop!"

* * *

**)—|(\IV/)|—(**

* * *

Motoyasu drank at least ten more glasses before he completely passed out at the banquet. Other than that and the girl who asked Itsuki to dance, the banquet was rather uneventful other than the fact that a few noblemen approached the group of friends.

Ren and Naofumi had to drag Motoyasu's ass back to his room. Itsuki simply followed behind, not being able to join in the carrying as there were only two arms for them to wrap around their necks to support.

The path back towards the room seemed to take longer than before, but it might have been the illusion of the night that fell during the time of the banquet. The open windows made for a cool, refreshing breeze, brushing against Itsuki's face as he walked past them.

They opened up the door and the two friends rolled Motoyasu into his bed. Ren made an exasperated sigh, but Naofumi merely smiled.

"_Don't… It's fine… I can… make both of you happy…_"

Ren shook his head as he walked out of the room.

"Even when he's asleep, he is still thinking about girls."

"Well, he wouldn't be the Motoyasu we know without that aspect."

"You know, Naofumi." Ren glanced over his shoulder. "I'd appreciate it if we could see Motoyasu without that aspect of his personality. Honestly, I think he would be a functioning human being at that point."

"Don't say that about Motoyasu," Naofumi sighed. "He only means well."

"Whatever." Ren continued his departure. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night, Ren. Good night, Itsuki. You two have sweet dreams, alright?"

Ren and Itsuki waved to their friend as they saw Naofumi drape Motoyasu's body with a blanket to keep him warm. He was always thinking of others and that was one of Naofumi's own aspects.

As Itsuki held his door, Ren called out to him.

"Hey. Sleep well, Itsuki. Tomorrow is a big day."

Itsuki looked over before making a bitter smile.

"Yeah. I know."

* * *

**)—|(\IV/)|—(**

* * *

Motoyasu had been right; the bed was quite soft, but Itsuki couldn't find his dormancy despite his body being relaxed. Perhaps his mind had been tricking himself that he couldn't sleep due to the difference of what he was used to. He never used a mattress when he was in the apartment; there were only tatami mats at his disposal since he was the most familiar with that sleeping manner.

He kept trying to close his eyes and count the sleep, but it was only a matter of time before he would wake up again. It was beginning to frustrate Itsuki, so he decided to try another tactic. He was thankful that Zellus gave them a tour of the castle.

"Maybe if I take a stroll around the castle, that could help me out."

As he closed the door of his room, he figured that Ren and Naofumi were both fast asleep already. No sounds were coming from their rooms, but he could clearly hear snores emerging from Motoyasu's door.

The hallways of the castle were dark, lit up dimly by lights on the walls. The moon's ambience helped a bit when he walked past the open windows, letting the moon's rays shine a path to walk on.

The castle looked slightly different during the night, especially when he was by himself. The portraits on the wall were more eerie and the empty suit of armour positioned every so often along the corridor looked as if it could jump out at Itsuki, but all he was really left with was the sound of his own footsteps.

He'd imagine that there were some knights on patrol, so hearing extra footsteps wouldn't be admitted immediately to supernatural instances.

He didn't have a specific direction he wanted to go to, but he walked onwards, trying to enjoy the midnight scenery that was laid upon the windows. It was difficult to see the specific part of the city, but the twinkle stars as the backdrop made it beautiful to look at.

Eventually, Itsuki found himself in the garden of the castle after wandering around.

He knew where this place was in respect to the mental map; if the map was folded on a vertical plane, the garden and the soldier's barracks would be overlaying on top of each other.

The moonlight showered on the plants, flowers and shrubbery, letting them bask in the twilight and seemingly glowed with aura. Itsuki felt attracted to the flowers as he instinctively stepped into the perimeters and bent down to take a closer look at them.

He didn't need to have knowledge of this world to believe that these flowers were pretty. The crevices and petals bloomed outwards from some buds, while others used their petals to hide away their pollen. They were all so vastly different from what Itsuki remembers from Japan, but there were a specific subset of flowers that he saw that made him remember something.

It was a collection of red roses and daisy, or at least, it looked like them. It was as if the moonlight had made a brighter spotlight onto them somehow. The daisies' white petals painted the area alongside the red rose's colour, blending together to make something that was nice to the eyes.

He'd only seen this combination of flowers once.

They were in Motoyasu's hands, and he told Itsuki what they meant, as the solemn and bittersweet voice was recalled. He remembered standing in a graveyard in the rain as Motoyasu knelt down against two gravestones without even his own umbrella, praying for the ones underneath to have a peaceful rest.

'_The red rose is known as the flower of love, representing the deep emotions and desires of a person._'

'_The daisy represents innocence and purity, conveying a loyal love and the promise to never tell._'

'_It's what I should have given them and I failed to do it. I didn't trust them enough and they misunderstood._'

'_Holding them in my memories and changing myself is what I can only do to let their souls rest._'

'_I can't blame them for doing what they did. It's my fault. It's… all my fault and I wouldn't let anything like happen ever again._'

Itsuki could feel his heart crumbling, immersing himself into the scene from one year ago. He probably still gives them flowers to this day as not only out of grief, but as a sign to remember. Believing that the lives of two people were taken from your actions wasn't something easy. He even was surprised to see that Motoyasu was carrying such burdens, yet smiling every single day.

The contrast between the Motoyasu tonight, drinking his life away, and the Motoyasu in the rain, on the verge of crying, had been different like midnight was to noon.

If only he had the same level of resolve as Motoyasu had…

"_Motoyasu…_"

In the silence of the night, Itsuki would have expected footsteps—

—but he hadn't been expecting a bell ringing softly, echoing in his ears.

"Huh? What's that?"

He stood up from the flowers and looked around. It sounded like it was coming from the fountain, but he didn't remember Zellus talking about any bells around the castle, especially not in the castle garden.

However, there stood a random girl with an ageless expression.

A white dress had been tight against above her waist, but frilled and expanded once passed. Patterns and symbols aligned along her sides and her back, but her front had been completely clean of any markings.

Her leggings had covered what the dress couldn't, as black lines crossed left and right throughout the article. She didn't even have any shoes; it was as if her legging acted as a double.

However, Itsuki laid his eyes on the scarf-like cloak, yellow-toned in colour, but it was a familiar shade. Itsuki looked down to the bow that was wrapped around him, noticing the same colour in the jewel as in the scarf.

She slowly extended her arm towards Itsuki and spoke in a soft, monotone voice. Her eternal gaze pierced his body with a silver crystal-coloured lens.

"_Be wary of the future, Bow Hero. You will be the one to decide the fate of the heroes' lives and I shall watch closely what your choice brings to this world. What shall triumph_—_will it be your desires or your bonds? Please show me the answer, Bow Hero._"

"W-What…?"

Itsuki rubbed his eyes quickly in the odd change of scenery, but when he looked back at the fountain, the girl had disappeared.

It was as if she never existed and Itsuki was left wondering if that had been a figment of his imagination—a fragment that had too much detail to it.

"What did I just see…?"

* * *

**)—|(\IV/)|—(**

* * *

Ren's sleeping patterns were already beyond messed up, but it never stopped him from functioning in his daily life. Hell, he'd say that he functioned much better than Motoyasu could ever imagine, but it wasn't helping his case here.

The bed was comfortable, but Ren couldn't sleep. He was used to getting about four to six hours of sleep daily, but for some reason, he couldn't even match two hours consecutively. He didn't feel anxious about the next day, but perhaps it was because he was quietly excited about getting to use his _Brave Star Online_ knowledge in this world.

"Maybe if I just walk around the castle, I'll be able to shake out that feeling."

He stood up from his bed and left. He wasn't hearing anything from Naofumi's door and Itsuki's door, so he assumed that they were fast asleep. However, Motoyasu was snoring yet again, making Ren wonder if the eldest roommate could bother to learn how to sleep quietly. He wondered how Naofumi could have slept against that sound.

He doubted that soundproof rooms existed if he could hear the snoring from a luxury guest room out here.

He walked down the dimly lit hallways, glancing around at his surroundings. Although the atmosphere changed, it was still the same old castle Zellus brought them around. Day and night didn't make much of a difference other than the fact that it was a bit harder to see the painting, even if he was right up close to it. Honestly, it made it slightly annoying to navigate.

As he wandered around, he heard voices down the hall. For some reason, he instinctively stepped into a branching hallway and made his footsteps more silent. He only knew one convenient pathway to the garden, a place where he could get some fresh air, and it was probably better to let them past him.

"Thank you again for helping, Princess."

"It's not a big deal. I had some free time on my hand, so I might as well lend some help."

It was the voice of two women. Their voices were quiet, but loud enough for Ren to unintentionally eavesdrop. Their tones sparked a type of attitude that Ren would have liked to avoid, reassuring that he made the right decision.

"I simply didn't expect you to be roaming around at this time of the night. You can imagine how surprised I must have been when I bumped into you."

"I'm telling you that you don't have to make such a commotion over it. You were helping Uncle Aldrecht with a task and dropped all of those papers in the dark. I had to help out or I'd feel _guilty_ about that."

Ren didn't even know who that woman was and it already sounded like she was a liar and a half. It felt like she wanted to be anywhere else except helping the other woman out.

"I feel bad for having you pick up all those papers. I was the one clearly at fault, Princess."

"It's fine. Really, it is."

The footsteps went past them as Ren caught a glimpse of the two figures passing by him in the darkness. It was difficult to perceive their physical appearance, but one of them had the standard castle servant uniform that he'd noticed on a few of the people in the castle.

In stark comparison, the other woman had a beautiful dress on, looking like she herself had recently left the banquet where those types of dresses were commonplace. Her hair had been a unique colour though, a shade that Ren believed to see within the shadows; it was a dark red, so probably the colour had been a bit brighter than that.

Not that Ren really cared in the first place.

He picked up the habit of observing random things when he was growing up and changing worlds wasn;t going to readapt to that.

Ren returned to the main path when the coast was clear.

As he made it around the next corner, the garden was starting to become visible from the inwards windows. The flowers had been illuminated in the moon's radiance, as the entire scenery looked to be glowing of energy.

However, Ren noticed someone that was out of place.

"... _Itsuki_?"

His friend had been standing, all confused, before a fountain. It was as if he was trying to find something, but couldn't no matter what he did.

He entered the garden and approached his friend from behind slowly, tapping him on the shoulder. Itsuki wasn't frightened, but he turned his head around and looked at him. Ren smirked.

"Itsuki. Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"... Hey, did you see that?"

Ren narrowed his eyes, glancing over to where Itsuki had been looking. "See what? The only unusual thing I saw here was that you were standing around in the garden late this night."

Itsuki's shoulders dropped as he slowly broke away from his sight. He acted disappointed, but relieved at the same time.

"N-Never mind then. Probably was my imagination after all…"

As the two remained silent, Ren pulled his hand away and looked into the open ceiling as the stars twinkled above their heads.

"When was the last time we went out to watch these constellations together?"

Itsuki instinctively looked up. "To see the stars in our secret hiding place? It felt so long ago since we moved in with Naofumi and Motoyasu, we've never really needed a place to run away to again—a place that we didn't need to shut ourselves from the twisted worlds that we once lived in. It's incredible how much those two years living with the others can feel so long."

"How long did it feel like to you?"

"It's like I've known them for my entire life. Though, if I did know them for that long, we wouldn't have had such rough childhoods."

"Remember how we first met?"

Itsuki softly chuckled. "Of course I do. Why wouldn't I remember how I met my best friend?"

"I was merely asking. That's all."

"And how many years has it been since we met on that fateful night?"

Ren softly chuckled. "It's been almost eight years. Hasn't it?"

"To think our lives changed so drastically just meeting each other that day. That single night changed my life. I don't think I would be here today if I hadn't met you."

Ren walked before Itsuki and turned to face him. Itsuki glanced down from the stars to meet his friend.

"And it's going to change once again, Itsuki. We are heroes now, just like how you've wanted to be." Ren smirked as he recalled the exact words. "You said something about being a hero of justice when we were little, right?"

"I still feel that way. I want to ensure that justice is served properly and if I'm a hero in this world," Itsuki clenched his fist before Ren, "I can do that here. I won't let justice fail others as it did for us."

Ren clenched his fist as well, holding it up for Itsuki to meet it. Itsuki didn't intend to bump their fists, but it didn't really matter. He raised up his fist and knocked it softly against Ren's.

"Then let's become heroes, Itsuki. A hero that won't let justice fail again and a hero that won't lose to anyone again."

"Yeah."

The cold breeze blew across the meeting, as they both smiled at each other. For as much Ren didn't smile, Itsuki had the pleasure of being in the presence of the few instances that he did. It was a very handsome smile and if he grinned more like that in public, it would be easy to see that he would be popular, especially if he bothered to stay quiet.

"Anyways, you should get to sleep. Were the beds too comfortable for you?"

Itsuki pulled his hand away, as did Ren. "Y-Yeah, it was. You sure know me…"

"Just bring all of the blankets and bedding layers onto the floor. The blankets are good enough to even replicate tatami mats back home, though the feeling isn't exactly the same. Though, it should be able to ease you into beds."

"Right. I'll take that advice." Itsuki started walking off to the exit. "I'll see you tomorrow, Ren."

"Hey, Itsuki? One last question."

Itsuki stopped in his tracks, looking over his shoulder.

"What were you looking for? When I noticed you here, it looked like you were trying to find something."

Itsuki wryly laughed. "N-No, it wasn't anything important. I… I just thought I saw a girl with white hair, but it must have been my imagination. She disappeared the next second, so it couldn't have been real."

Itsuki walked onward without noticing Ren's widened expression.

"Anyways, sleep tight, Ren."

Ren's spine had stiffened and he gulped upon Itsuki's description.

It wasn't as if white-haired girls were common, but a few of them surely existed in the world. However, it was the odd description of how she suddenly disappeared matched with the close proximity of a similar description from Motoyasu. Even if Motoyasu didn't remember the girl himself, there was a detail that apparently knew and knew alone.

'_Where did you find this book_?'

'_Huh? Some white-haired girl gave it to me._'

Ren's breath was lost for a second as his heart skipped a beat.

'_Who exactly are you, girl of white hair? What's going on and what's your deal?_'

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 006 : Elegant Dance**

[Naofumi] : "W-Wow… Itsuki sure knows how to dance…!"

[Ren] : "Oh, that? Itsuki doesn't actually know how to dance. This is the first time he's doing something like this."

[Motoyasu] : "W-Wait, seriously!? It looks like he's been doing it for five thousand years! I WANT TO BE ABLE TO DANCE LIKE THAT!"

[Ren] : "Itsuki's simply really good at rhythm. He probably just applied the theory of music and tempo to dancing. It helps that Itsuki isn't a klutz, so there's that."

[Naofumi] : "... Does it actually work like that?"

[Ren] : "Hell if I know. I was just giving a plausible explanation. Knowing nothing about music and dancing, that's probably the most logical thing I can come up with."

[Motoyasu] : "Ah, I get it! So if I learn music, then I'll be dancing elegantly like Itsuki in no time! C'mon, give me a beat!"

[Ren] : "Alright. I'll beat you with my fist. Try and dance your way around it."

[Naofumi] : "R-Ren, maybe you shouldn't—!"

[Ren] : "Hyah!"

[Motoyasu] : "G-Grah!"

[Naofumi] : "A-Ah… _Too late_… A-And people are looking now…!"

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 007 : Knight's Duty**

[Zellus] : "Aldrecht is always trying to get me to do stuff… I'm already trying my best here with the investigation into the Church of Three Heroes. It's a difficult one-man team here, trying to track possible secret areas where the weapon could be hidden! _Well, minus the entire shadow operatives_."

[Zellus] : "Though, I guess our interests _do_ align. Defend the Kingdom of Melromarc, defeat the Church of Three Heroes… and somehow, protect the Cardinal Heroes while keeping them in arm's reach."

[Zellus] : "Whoa, that sounds like a lot even though it's just three things on a checklist. Eh, I'll just let the plans play out by itself and deal with problems as they come up. I'm no good at large-scale planning after all. _Hopefully_, I'll be able to get some fun fights out of this deal! I can almost smell the intensity!"

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**


	6. Chapter 1-05 : Dawn of a New Day

**)**—**(**\IV/**)|**—**(**

* * *

"How do I look? Pretty nice, don't you think!?"

As the morning sun shone through the open window, Motoyasu twirled excitedly as his new red cape had been fluttering behind him. It was being pinched in place by his golden-embroidered shoulder pads, though they weren't the reasons why it stayed.

With his elbow and forearms being covered in similar material, his body was covered in a tunic that lined his sides with red. He was also provided with steel boots that were comfortable around his ankle.

"It's nice of them to have given each of us armour sets to go out in the new world," Itsuki said, grinning. "I mean, we really do look the part of the hero now. It's nice to be treated like this for a change."

Itsuki sat down on the couch with his new outfit equipped. It was appraised to play to what the Bow Hero's strengths would be, increasing as many hits he could take without sacrificing his movements.

There was only a single shoulder pad and a hip guard serving as clear protection, while his olive cape draped over his brown leather tunic. The white shirt and pants were exposed, while he played with his bow's string with the new fingerless gloves.

"Though, I'll give it to them. They really nailed my expectations."

Ren looked at his own equipment, as he leaned against the wall, as Ren usually did. It appeared that his armour set looked to be inspired by Lothringen's blackened equipment, but he only had the breastplate as a steel line of defenses.

It blended in nicely with his black coat, accented with white, as the tunic underneath had been black lined with a gold colour. He topped it off with a blue scarf that hung past his hips and black leather gloves.

"Well, it's obvious that they're putting in a lot of work to ensure that we get to the point where we can save their world," Naofumi said, "so we should do our best to do what we can."

Naofumi had been standing behind the couch that was parallel to Itsuki, as a silver plate wrapped around his neck, extending down to the center of his chest. His tunic was much shorter than the others, exposing a thin line of the brown undershirt.

His outfit was finished with a green cape, to match the orb in his shield and a medallion that had the shield's icon on it that supposingly raised his defense without putting on additional weight.

The other three nodded in their affirmations.

Alongside the equipment that they were provided, a bag of coins had been added on. Each bag held an equal amount of coins in a silver shade. They were told that the contents of each bag contained 750 'silvers', and this was for any use that they saw fit.

Apparently, one stay at a regular inn was a few bronze coins. As a reference, 100 of them are required to form a silver coin, and 100 of silver coins are required to form a gold coin.

Another servant had knocked on their room and entered, requesting for their appearance in the throne room. A servant had told them that the meeting with the King and their new allies would take place around this time, so they were prepared and left promptly to see the King.

The tour that Zellus had given them was very useful. They would have been able to go to the throne room themselves and back. Hell, they went to the banquet without the guidance of anybody and arrived slightly earlier than expected.

And so, as they walked in, they began the dawn of their first official day as heroes.

* * *

**)**—**(\**IV**| Chapter 1-05 |**IV**/)|**—**(  
)\\( Dawn of a New Day )/(**

* * *

"Welcome back," the king announced. "I hope you had a pleasant night."

Alongside the king and Lothringen, there had been one more face that had been waiting for them. Naofumi remembered him to be the old man from their summoning ritual, the one that had stayed behind due to an issue.

The old man bowed his head, as he stood next to the throne. "Forgive my lack of appearance yesterday, Cardinal Heroes. There were matters that I had to attend to, but it should be covered for now. I should introduce myself, for I foresee that we will be meeting many more times in the months, or perhaps even years, to come. My name is Aldrecht Lanfar. I am the royal retainer of the king. It is a pleasure to meet you all."

Naofumi straightened his back.

Compared to the king's authoritative atmosphere, the way that Aldrecht spoke held a sense of self-dignity that a grandfather would have. If the king felt like he was the actions, Aldrecht felt the emotions.

"Ah, it's our pleasure, Aldrecht. My name is—"

"Please do not introduce yourself again," Aldrecht heartedily chuckled. "I've already been informed beforehand. What type of person would I be to not do my research before entering an important meeting?"

Naofumi didn't know how to respond, but the scene moved on without him.

"Now, shall we get down to my promise to the heroes?"

Aldrecht took a few steps from the throne and stood on the opposite side of Lothringen as the king spoke.

"Through our searches, we've been able to gather twelve warriors, adventures, and fighters that were brave enough to offer their assistance to the four Cardinal Heroes against the waves of destruction." Aldrecht raised his hand to the knights serving as the door's guards. "Please, let these people in and welcome them into the throne room."

The knights behind them opened up the door as the four heroes looked backwards, seeing that there were a group of people that looked like they were ripped out of a fantasy novel or a game. Naofumi had to admit that they looked authentic, but that was that probably because they _were_ authentic.

"We have organized these valiant adventurers and I hope they will be helpful to your cause." Aldrecht raised his voice, so that the incoming party members would hear him. "Please, distribute yourselves among the heroes."

They did as they were told, walking to form lines behind them.

However, there was something amiss once everyone had stopped moving.

Twelve adventures had been presented to the four heroes. Basic arithmetic and fairness dictated that each hero would have received three adventurers to aid them in their journey to save the world.

Then, why was it that Naofumi did not get a single person that lined up behind him? Ren had five people, Itsuki had three people, and Motoyasu had four. In contrast, Naofumi had zero.

"Hey, wait." Ren glanced at the groupings. "What's going on here? Why are the parties aren't evenly distributed?"

Itsuki frowned. "This doesn't seem right here."

"Seriously?" Motoyasu raised his brows, glancing at everyone's party. "_Wow_, this _really _went as badly as it could for Naofumi."

Aldrecht blinked silently.

"... Uhm… _This… This wasn't..._"

He himself had been flabbergasted at the outcome.

He was _positive_ that he handled the applications to select three adventurers that would go with each hero and each one had been instructed to party up with the hero Aldrecht chosen for them.

He was _positive_ that he handled everything correctly and handed the correct documents to the servant.

'_How did it ever end up like this?_'

However, Aldrecht widened his eyes as he noticed a familiar red-haired girl among the group.

Naofumi raised his hand. "Uhm, excuse me? I don't… have any party members. Is this some type of mistake?"

Aldrecht groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"P-Please excuse me, Shield Hero. Please excuse me, _everyone_. I… I need to speak with the king for a brief moment."

As everyone else in the throne room looked confused, Aldrecht crept closer to his old friend and leaned his head over to his ear.

"_Aultcray? I have… many questions, but let us address the biggest problem here in the room._" Aldrecht stroked his beard to help calm himself down. "_Why is the first princess, your _daughter_, doing there, standing along the adventurers?_"

"_She came to ask me about joining with the Spear Hero late last night, so I had no other choice. You strictly wanted twelve from your note, so I threw out one of the applications for her._"

"_I had them all organized already, Aultcray!_" Aldrecht prayed that he didn't throw out one of the applications for the knights. He didn't remember their faces, only their attributes, so he couldn't tell if they were all present. Let alone if the adventurers were the right ones or not. "_What part of my note in which all you had to do was approve them did you not understand?_"

"_But it was for my dear daughter! She wanted to accompany the Spear Hero!_"

"_Look, I _understand _you did it for your daughter! I'm why I'm_—!" Aldrecht felt like he was having an aneurysm from his friend's actions, but he knew complaining about it would yield nothing. "_Bah, fine. We can't rearrange it now. What is done is done and we will move on. We cannot lose anymore face here in front of the Cardinal Heroes. However, let's address the second issue. Why are there no party members for the Shield Hero!?_"

"_My only involvement was tossing out that single application, Aldrecht. The rest was what you've given to me._"

Aldrecht flinched in the revelation. "_N-No, that can't be right! I double-checked, tripled-checked that I was handing that servant the right applications! How in the heavens would the Shield Hero end up with none!?_"

Meanwhile, the four friends had been conversing to themselves as the king and his retainer quietly spoke.

"This really ended up with a predicament for Naofumi, hasn't it?" Motoyasu chuckled at the serious implications. Naofumi tried to laugh, but both Itsuki and Ren hadn't been content.

"Naofumi," Itsuki said, "you do realize that you don't have any attack points, right? That means without party members, you can't reasonably get experience points to grow stronger! This isn't a laughing matter!"

Naofumi slowly dripped his laughter away, scratching his head. "I-Is that so?"

"Look, there are twelve people here, right?" Itsuki looked back at his team. "I'd love to send some party members over, but I only have the minimum that we should have gotten."

Itsuki glanced over at Ren and Motoyasu.

Ren crossed his arms, not looking at his team. "You all heard the Bow Hero. Someone, go fight with the Shield Hero." He didn't hear any footsteps behind him, so he assumed no one left. "You should know what you're getting into by staying with me. I won't be afraid to leave you to drown if you can't keep up." Once again, there was no movement.

He sighed, glancing at his friend. "Sorry, Naofumi. None of them are going."

"It's fine!" Naofumi sheepishly smiled. "I'm sure they noticed that you were bluffing and all."

"_He's not bluffing_," Itsuki whispered quietly to him. "_Since he doesn't know them, there's a good chance that he will drop them behind if they aren't up to par._"

Naofumi's expression froze.

"... _Oh_."

"How about you, Motoyasu?" Itsuki asked, pulling back to his place. "Anyone is your group that can help out Naofumi?"

"Well, it's not my fault that Naofumi is—"

Motoyasu didn't even get to finish his sentence before Ren struck him in the stomach.

"Do you want to try to finish that sentence?"

"N-No…" Motoyasu tried to laugh it off, holding onto the pained location. "_I-I'm fine_."

"Good. Try and learn that there's a time and place for everything."

"Y-Yeah… You're right…"

Shaking the pain off quickly, he turned to the group lined up behind him. Only then did he realize that everyone who wanted to party up with him had been female, causing him to chuckle internally.

"Look, the Shield Hero needs some help. He's a good person, I guarantee it! Would any of you fine, lovely ladies—"

Ren almost puked in his mouth. Itsuki groaned, not bothering to watch Motoyasu speak.

"—be grateful enough to help him out? You'll have my eternal gratitude!"

The woman looked among each other, and to everyone's surprise, one person raised their hands in accordance to Motoyasu's request.

It was a girl donning crimson hair and sparkling emerald eyes. Her clothing had been primarily of leather equipment, as a purple skirt of her tunic was kept seen, barely reaching her knees. As Naofumi looked at the girl, he couldn't stop himself from thinking the single word of beauty onto her.

As she smiled, the friendliness became evident by the corners of her mouth.

"Sir Spear Hero. I will trust your words, and help out the Shield Hero, though my original choice was with you."

"Well, I didn't see that one coming," Ren muttered quietly.

"Tell me about it," Itsuki added on in astonishment.

"I appreciate it a lot!" Motoyasu cheered. "I owe you a favour! Maybe, I'll take you on a date one day as my token! It'll be on me! How does that sound?"

"_Well, I saw that one coming from a mile away_," Ren deadpanned, narrowing his eyes onto Motoyasu.

"_Tell me about it_," Itsuki sighed, holding his head in disappointment.

Naofumi chuckled awkwardly, as he watched the girl smile at Motoyasu with a hint of a blush.

Having one person help him out, even if they were asked to do it, was fine by him. Hopefully, he'll be able to climb his reputation ladder and gain more adventurers who wished to fight alongside him during his journey.

"Is one person really enough?" Itsuki asked.

"Yeah. It's fine! It's not like I'm completely left in the dust!"

The girl walked over to Naofumi's side, and bowed before him with dignity and grace. "My name is Myne Sophia, and I look forward to working alongside you, Mister Shield Hero." It was an understatement to say he was taken by her appearance.

"P-Pleasure," Naofumi stammered. She seemed to have quite an outgoing personality, so much that Naofumi started to fear if he could keep up with her.

Aldrecht ended his discussion with the king with a defeated sigh. There was much more he wanted to tell the king, but he had to limit themselves in the presence of the heroes.

He raised himself and turned back to the crowd—his jaw dropped the next moment to see that there one one more person with the Shield Hero.

"One of the Spear Hero's party members decided to come with the Shield Hero," Itsuki explained. "Apparently, the Shield Hero thinks one person is enough for his party."

"... _Y-Yes!_ I-I see that!"

Aldrecht tried not to break, seeing that it was _not other than the king's daughter_ to be the one switching over to the Shield Hero. Aldrecht could feel the silent confusion between anger and doting instincts behind him. Only a heavy sigh managed to escape the king's mouth.

'_What in the heavens is that girl doing!?_'

Aldrecht was _very_ tempted to pull her away and talk to her privately, not only for sorting herself in the heroes' parties, but for switching over to the hero that her father despised. However, things had already gone off rails so quickly. Aldrecht started stammering, trying to find his words.

"U-Uhm… I… must offer my apologies, Shield Hero!" Aldrecht cleared his throat. "I was the one who primarily organized the party members, but… they were given the choice to pick. I had no influence over their decision since we believe in their freedom to choose. We cannot go against their wishes."

"Twelve people, yet none of them initially selected Naofumi?" Ren shook his head. "That doesn't sound right."

"A-Ah, that…" Aldrecht looked to redirect the blame in the heat of the moment. "That must be the influence of the Church of Three Heroes!"

"Church of the Three Heroes?" Naofumi asked, tilting his head. "What's that?"

"I suppose you of all people should know for your own sake. It's an unofficial religion within Melromarc that branched off from the Four Heroes Saint, the official religion of our country. They omit the Shield Hero in their teachings, and praise only the other three Cardinal Heroes."

"So that just means the public image of the Shield Hero is distorted," Motoyasu concluded. His condolences were sent to his friend. "That's some really bad luck, Naofumi."

"No, it's fine! Really!" Naofumi waved his hands about. "As long as I can gain experience points at a steady rate, I think I should be fine with Myne!"

'_Myne's not even a good cover name, princess…_'

Everything was falling apart as Aldrecht just wanted to rest.

"If the Shield Hero does not have any more things to say, then this concludes today's meeting." Aldrecht tapped his cane twice quickly, to gather everyone's attention. He really wanted to end this meeting as quickly as possible now. "From now on, you are to journey outside of the city's perimeters and embark on the quest of becoming ever so stronger. I would like for all of you to take care."

However, Lothringen took a step forward.

"As Heroes, may I ask for a single request to keep in mind during your journeys? I ask of you to help any of our citizens that you can help out. An excellent place to find these requests are posted in guild halls."

"Guild halls, huh?" Ren pondered, using his knowledge from _Brave Star Online_. "It might be a good place to check out once we get familiar with our surroundings. Requests are a good way to get additional resources for ourselves since I suspect that we can't be constantly depending on the kingdom."

"Thank you once again, Cardinal Heroes," the king concluded. "I hope to see you to be well in the future, and good luck on your travels."

The four heroes glanced at each other and nodded, leaving the throne room and out the castle. From there, Naofumi, Motoyasu, Itsuki, and Ren all split up in different directions to make sure that they could level up properly.

However, Naofumi was still wary of what Ren and Itsuki told him.

'_It's not like I do absolutely no damage, right?_'

* * *

**)**—**(**\IV/**)|**—**(**

* * *

Well, he confirmed it.

He was utterly useless in terms of attacking.

It was one thing to be told that, but it was heartbreaking to punch a monster full force and for it to result in a slither of their health being reduced. Even more so when Myne had thrown a small amount of slashes to kill the same balloon.

In the end, it resorted to Naofumi primarily just taking the aggression of the monsters while Myne went to kill them. On the bright side, it doesn't seem like the monsters could hurt him. No matter how much they bite down on him, he really didn't feel any pain.

However, he would be lying if there wasn't a flutter in his stomach.

He truly enjoyed the change of pace from Japan.

The day had been somewhat bright, but Myne had suggested that they should wrap up the first day early. She didn't want Naofumi to be overwhelmed and despite Naofumi feeling fine, he didn't want to worry his companion, so they returned to the capital.

As Naofumi walked through the streets, he noticed a familiar stature looking in a window of a shop which had a sign of the shape of two swords crossing each other, hanging over the pathway. There were symbols above the icon, but Naofumi couldn't exactly read what it said.

"Ah, is that the Sword Hero?"

"Looks like it. Hey, Ren!"

The black-haired swordsman darted his eyes over to its corner to see who had been calling him, only to return his glance back to the window display.

"Ren, it's nice to see you again!"

"... Naofumi. It's literally been a few hours since we last spoke. Though," Ren turned his body towards him, "how's your small little party going? Getting along with her?"

"Yep! What about your party members? How are you doing with them?"

"My own? I wouldn't know. I sent them to dispatch different locations while I took care of my own levelling and grinding. I'm more of a solo player if anything."

As they spoke, Myne walked up toward Ren and did a curtsy. Her smile seemed to be radiating like it was during her introductions. "Good evening, Sir Sword Hero. I'm Myne Sophia, the party member in quest—"

Unfortunately, this was Ren she was talking to.

"Yes, I know," Ren groaned, causing Myne to flinch out of her gesture. "You've already introduced yourself inside the throne room already—pretty loudly at that. My memory isn't terrible that I would forget something like that."

Of course, Myne was taken aback at the sudden hostility, or what could have been taken as sudden hostility in her perspective. Itsuki's named passion for Ren popped into his mind again.

"C'mon, Ren. I'm sure she was only trying to be courteous!"

"She can be courteous by assuming that I'm not an idiot."

"I didn't mean anything negative by re-introducing myself, S-Sir Sword Hero!" Myne stammered. Despite the visual gap in age, Ren seemed to have Myne on the ropes. "I only wanted to say that I'm performing that best I can do for the Shield Hero!"

"Whatever," Ren scoffed, crossing his arms. "Anyways, what's the details on your progress? Hopefully, you've at least gotten somewhere."

"You're referring to my level, right?" Naofumi looked up his status and read out the numbers he saw there. "Hmm. Seems like I'm still only at Level 1. Oh well, it's not the end of the world. I didn't think I'd be able to raise up my strength that quickly anyways…"

Ren raised his eyebrow. "Level 1? Seriously? What the hell were you doing all day? I realize that these level-ups are exponential, but it's still only the first level."

Naofumi widened his eyes towards Ren's remark, tilting his head to the side. "Is it that easy to get Level 2? I feel like we've—rather, it's more correct to say that Myne herself—been killing a good handful of monsters. How much do you need for a Level 2?"

"From what I saw, you don't actually need that much. It's only about two dozen or so monsters, give or take. Though, if Myne was the one doing the attacks, I couldn't think of a reason as to why you couldn't exceed that number. It's like you're not even in the same party…!"

"Ah! I completely forgot! We never made a party with one another!"

"Huh?"

"... Huh. Figures," Ren clicked his tongue in disapproval. "I'll guess I'll explain. Naofumi, the reason as to why you haven't leveled up is because you actually haven't been getting any experience. It's all been going to Myne, as she was the one that dealt the last hit.

"That means she reaps all the rewards, even if you participated in the battle. Adversely, if she was within your party, some of the rewards will be split among the rest. It's the main reason as to why I decided to fight monsters by myself. I'm almost at Level 3 already."

"Through all the chaos that was this morning, I must have not noticed we haven't made a party request yet!" Myne bowed down. "My deepest apologies, Sir Shield Hero!"

"Honestly, I shouldn't be that one telling you this, Naofumi. Isn't there a reason why the king gathered adventurers to help us out? I would expect that this is some of the basics here."

"Now, now, Ren." Naofumi tried to lower Ren's active annoyance, stopping Ren with raised hands. "Everyone makes mistakes and it doesn't seem all that much in the grand scheme of things. I manage to gain mental experience instead and I think that's worthwhile!"

Ren sighed, ruffling his own hair. "You're way too forgiving, Naofumi. Though, I suppose the value in collecting the monster materials should be good enough for proof of the first day. You'll have a little extra in your pocket besides the grand that the king provided us and—

"—Naofumi, why are you looking at me like that?"

Ren narrowed his eyes as Naofumi blinked blanklessly, dumbfounded to what Ren was spurting out.

"... Monster… materials?"

Ren was shocked and frowned, realizing that Naofumi's words had implied sincerity in the way he said it.

"... Were you not collecting the materials off the monster corpses?"

"... I didn't realize we had to do that."

He immediately turned to Myne, glaring at her.

"Are you being serious right now? Are you _trying_ to take advantage of Naofumi because he's clueless about the system?"

"I-I—"

"No, it's fine! Ren, it's really fine!" Naofumi stepped in between Myne and Ren. "Sometimes, things are second-nature to a person that they just forget to tell a newbie like me!"

"Y-Yes, I fear that is what must have happened," Myne explained. "I'm not used to partying up with new people and I'm also not the one to gather the monster materials when we defeat them. It's… a force of habit."

"... Hmmph." Ren crossed his arms dismissively. "I still think you're giving this girl too much leeway, Naofumi."

"Well, no harm, no foul!" Naofumi laughed. "With that out of the way, I wanted to ask you what you were doing here."

Ren glanced back at the display window and closed his eyes defeatedly.

"... I was just wondering what the weapons were looking like in the capital. A party member pointed me to this blacksmith, and so, here I am."

"Have you checked it out yet?"

"If I did, would I be standing outside?"

Naofumi tilted his head. "I guess you have a point. Let's go in together, Ren!"

Ren looked like he wanted to do something else, but he answered in a defeat. "So be it, I guess. It's not like you'll be actively getting in my way or anything."

Myne walked towards the closed door, gesturing to Naofumi to follow in her steps. "Then shall we head in? This goes for the _Sword Hero_ as well."

Ren raised his brows as he noticed Myne referring to him in a different tone. He knew what it meant, but Naofumi looked at Myne slightly confused.

'_Wait, did Myne not like Ren?_' he thought, but quickly shook his head. '_Nah, couldn't be. Myne seems like a nice person. Must be my imagination._'

With Ren's nod, the group of three walked into the weapon's shop. The wooden door rang a chime along the hinges, as Naofumi widened his eyes to see what the weapons shop looked like from its interior.

Weapons were hanging on display along the stone walls, while more various weapons had been bunched up together. Swords, daggers, spears, and axes alike. It looked like the ones that were up high were more polished and more impactful to the eye.

In addition, there was a section dedicated to armour sets and shields, with some of the former being worn by stands. There were a good number of items, small accessories and nicknacks, being sold along the bottom of the front counter.

Naofumi met the gaze of a muscular man draped in an outfit one would use for blacksmithing—the gloves, the apron, and the thing underclothing for help against the heat. He had a goatee and shaved head, clean of any hair, standing behind the counter.

"Welcome," the shopkeeper announced amiably. "Have something that you want to buy?"

"I'm just looking around," Ren said immediately, as if it was second-nature to him. He walked over to the swords and stood there to inspect them. "I'll call you if I need anything, so don't feel obligated to help me."

"Alright," the shopkeeper grinned, not affected by Ren's attitude. "What about you two? Got something in mind?"

"Can we see equipment for..." Naofumi's words trailed off as a thought crossed his mind. "Actually, do you have a simple sword that I could check out?"

"Oh, Sir Shield Hero," Myne looked at him with wonder. "You wish to have a sword?"

"Only if it works for me. I don't want to keep on being useless with all my attacks hitting like paper."

"It's not going to work, Naofumi," Ren said, without turning around. "Remember what I told you in the castle?"

"Well, we don't know that for sure," Naofumi replied. "Maybe the holy weapons are picky when it comes to allowing exceptions!"

"I highly doubt that, but feel free to do what you want. Don't say I didn't tell you though."

"The holy weapons?" The shopkeeper widened his eyes in surprise. "Don't tell me that you're one of the Cardinal Heroes!?"

"Both of us are," Naofumi announced as he pointed to Ren and himself. "I'm the Shield Hero, Naofumi Iwatani, and my friend over there is Ren Amaki, the Sword Hero."

However, the dark-skinned man raised his eyebrows. "... Two? And here I thought that banquet was for the celebration of a single hero. That;s a sudden surprise," Though, the man shrugged and left behind the counter over towards the open floor. "Anyway, you mentioned you wanted a sword, right?"

"That's right. A sword that's meant for beginners would be more than great."

"And what's the price range?"

Naofumi looked over towards Myne who had picked up the cue. Naofumi obviously didn't know how to gauge price ranges for items he wasn't informed about.

"I would say that 250 silvers is an excellent upper limit."

"250? Alright, I got something in mind. Let me find it first."

'_Isn't that a third of my current wallet? I… I guess I'll trust Myne on this one._'

"Hard to imagine a Shield Hero using a sword." The man shuffled through the array of blades with his eyes, trying to pinpoint the specific request. "Though, for a Cardinal Hero, you sure don't look too strong."

Naofumi nodded. "Yeah, you're not wrong. As the Shield Hero, I don't have many, if any, means to attack. That's why I want to be stronger, so that I can be useful to protect everyone from the waves of destruction."

"You know, there's more to strength than offensive capability, but not having a means to attack does sound like a difficult time. I can respect that. Ah, here." The shopkeeper drew out a short sword from the cases, and handed Naofumi the weapon. "See if this works, lad."

Naofumi carefully held the given sword by the handle, almost as if it could slip out of his fingers at any moment.

"All these swords come along with [Blood Clean], so they're relatively easy to handle."

"Huh? [Blood Clean]? What's that?"

"[Blood Clean]," Myne started to explain, "helps extend a sword's lifetime. The blood of monsters and creatures are slightly acidic, so it erodes the edges of most metals after continuous use, even if you clean it off. Without [Blood Clean], weapons would have to be replaced more frequently, so it's a very efficient add-on for an added price."

"Oh, kinda like a kitchen knife?"

"_So the girl does remember stuff._"

Myne rolled her eyes over Ren's offhand comment.

"It's as the girl says. By the way, the price with the [Blood Clean] is already applied to the sw—"

"—_Crap_!"

The sword almost flew out of Naofumi's hand the moment he tried to swing it.

Everyone, even Ren, glanced over to see the problem as Naofumi winced in a subtle pain, shaking his hands. The moment he swung the sword, there was a stinging shock that almost forced him to release it.

The next moment, the reminder from the system appeared.

**[Attention]  
[Cardinal Heroes cannot use weapons other than the assigned Holy Weapon with the intention to fight.]**

"Looks like the problem is deeper than it looks," Ren muttered. He himself had one of the displayed swords in his hand, but didn't dare to swing it. "It doesn't look like we're allowed to use anything else other than the holy weapons. Even weapons of the same kind."

"Do you think it's some sort of curse?" Myne asked.

"I hope it's not," Naofumi grumbled as he picked up the sword and handed it back to the shopkeeper. "It would make all of this so inconvenient, at least for me."

"It's the shield that doesn't let you use other weapons, right?" The shopkeeper asked the question as he placed the sword back in its place. "Mind if I take a look at that?"

"Yeah, sure."

Naofumi stuck out his shield for the shopkeeper as he walked back and took a good look at it. It seemed like he was looking at the green jewel intensely, but once a few seconds had passed, he gave out a shrug.

"There's a lot of energy coming from that shield of yours, but I can't seem to pick up any exact details with my appraisal magic. Though, I can say for certain that there isn't anything cursed about your shield. The appraisal would pick up on that immediately."

"So I'm really stuck with this shield. What am I supposed to do now?" Naofumi lazily looked at the armament. "I guess I really do have to hang back and let my party members fight for me. Though, I'd like a bit more variety than this."

"If you bothered to look deeper into the menus," Ren said, walking up to Naofumi with one of the display swords, "then you would find something interesting."

Naofumi turned around to see Ren thrusted his sword next to Naofumi's head. The blacksmith and Myne had panicked, but Naofumi knew that Ren wouldn't hurt him for no apparent reason.

When Naofumi glanced at the thrusted sword, he noticed something odd. It had a similar blue gem along the hilt, like how Ren's holy sword was designed. Speaking of which, where was Ren's holy sword? Naofumi didn't see it anywhere.

"Wait," Naofumi deduced. "Is that weapon the holy sword?"

Ren pulled the sword back and transformed it into the default state. Naofumi gasped.

"It's called [Weapon Copy]. This ability allows you to copy any weapons under your prescribed weapon. Instead of switching shields manually, you'll be able to copy a shield using the system and switch between those weapons."

"R-Really!?"

"We should try it out, Sir Shield Hero!"

Snapping out of her surprise, Myne brought over a normal looking shield and Naofumi held onto it. He kept in him the new ability, and not before long, a new notification screen appeared.

**[Attention]  
[Would you like to copy the weapon?]**

"U-Uhm… Yes, please."

**[Attention]  
[Weapon Copy complete. [Iron Buckler] has now been unlocked.]**

**[Iron Buckler]  
(Equip Bonus) : Defense 1**

The weapon screen looked ridiculously simple and Naofumi appreciated it.

There was a weapon book menu that suddenly appeared in the bottom. Once he accessed it, the menu brought him to the list of weapons he unlocked. With the [Iron Buckler] in mind, Naofumi's shield suddenly changed into the copied replica.

"Looks like you got the gist."

"Ah, so I can switch shields whenever I want?"

"Yeah. Different weapons can give different effects, so you should keep a mind on that. Some of the effects might not be noticeable until you strengthen them."

Naofumi glanced at the [Iron Buckler]. The (Equip Bonus) along the shield didn't look like it would help him that much, given the fact that he already has enough defense to shake off monster attacks. He didn't think a single point would help out.

"Oh, and don't forget to release the energy when you max out the weapon's mastery."

"... Wait, what?"

'_Mastery? I didn't see anything about that there._'

Ren frowned and sighed. "Alright, I think I'll have to explain this then. Listen carefully; I'm not going to repeat this and it's going to be important since it's how you can make your shields stronger."

He turned around, sheathing the sword back into place. When Ren took a deep breath, Naofumi felt like he should have been taking notes, thinking his friend was going to start teaching like a university professor.

"Let's start with the easy one."

Apparently, there existed something called a mastery level on each weapon. It was quite simple; use the weapon and it will gradually become stronger until it reaches the limit. That part, Naofumi could understand easily.

"Now pay attention to the main strengthening method. As someone that doesn't play games like these, you should try and wrap your head around this as quickly as possible."

At any moment, the mastery can be chosen to reset. Obviously, this will bring the rating of the weapon down back to base form, but the mastery points are converted into energy and placed into a free-floating pool.

What Naofumi could do at that point is use energy from that pool to power up any weapon that he wanted to power up; it didn't need to be the weapon he got the mastery points from, nor did it have to be at maximum mastery.

Once enough energy was applied, the weapon permanently ranks up in rarity, increasing its base stats and could possibly unlock new equip bonuses and special equip effects; the former being mostly passive skills and latter being mostly active skills.

"That _does_ sound like a lot, Ren."

Ren sighed. "You'll get used to it. Do you see what I'm talking about now?"

Naofumi opened up the [Iron Buckler] once again and was rather surprised.

**[Iron Buckler] C  
(Equip Bonus) : Defense 1  
(Mastery Level) : 0**

Naofumi didn't know if he was blind or not, but he somehow missed the two additional sets of information. Beside the weapon's name, there was the rarity; this [Iron Buckler] was rated as 'Common'. Below the equip bonus, the mastery level was shown.

Added to the fact that the screen was glitched out back in the throne room for a moment and Naofumi either thought he was losing it, or that the system might have been slightly broken.

"Y-Yeah… I see it now!" Naofumi's excitement at learning more about the system welled up against his chest. "I'll keep that in mind!"

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

The blacksmith's name was Erhart as they got to speak with him a little bit more. Naofumi was going to keep him in mind whenever he needed any equipment for himself, Myne, or any future party members that he might get. Myne even got herself new equipment, much against Ren's argument that they shouldn't buy anything major because it was still their first day.

Though, it was less of the analytical part, and more of 'Naofumi felt bad about using [Weapon Copy]' part that drove him to make the purchase.

The two heroes departed as Ren went on to get some more experience and materials before the sun truly setted. Naofumi wanted to have a drive like Ren, but as much as he wanted to, Myne wanted to wrap things up early for the day.

There was a good quality inn and restaurant melange a few streets over that Myne had recommended. Entering in, it was exactly how Naofumi would have imagined a medieval-styled inn. He was about to mindlessly ask for one room until Myne spoke up.

"Sir Shield Hero? Could I request for a room of my own?"

"O-Oh, right. Of course, Myne," Naofumi answered in a fluster. "I supposed girls need their own privacy after all."

"How considerate. Thank you, Sir Shield Hero."

They went and had their early dinner while discussing much of the future maps. Naofumi had picked up a map from Erhart as he rolled it out before the food came along, letting Myne's words make him imagine the possibilities.

Naofumi noticed the plate of food coming down the aisle and he cleaned up the table, returning the map back into the inventory. The dishes came with complimentary wine and two wine glasses had been filled for them. Myne had held up her own glass, making Naofumi do the same.

"Shall we toast to our first complete day?"

Naofumi smiled. "Yeah. Why not?"

As the glasses clinked against each other, Myne sipped a small volume of the wine. However, Naofumi placed the wine back down and acted like it wasn't there anymore.

"Um, Sir Shield Hero? Usually, this action of toasting is typically followed up by a celebratory drink."

"Oh, is it?" Naofumi didn't know, but he did recall that this was a similar gesture back in his world. Even in the banquet, they would cheer with one another, but Motoyasu would be the only one that immediately chugged their drink down. "Sorry, but I'm not much of a drinker. Though, I would do the gesture to liven things up."

"Really?"

"Haven't touched a drop of pure wine in my stomach, though I have cooked with it before. I'm not sure if that counts..."

"Are you sure you don't want to?"

Naofumi nodded, chuckling at Myne's approaches. "I'm sure."

"I… I see." She had revealed a small pout, as she retracted. "I don't want to come off as forceful, after all. Should I have the waitress bring you something else?"

"I think I should be fine. Thanks for the thought."

Naofumi finished up his dinner first and decided to head up before Myne. He thanked Myne for the day and hoped for another great adventure tomorrow. He headed up to his room, seeing that the sun had just been setting, but he was already tuckered out.

Myne made the right choice in bringing them back early.

He rolled into bed after removing his equipment, relaxing as he looked up into the ceiling.

The weight of the day had collapsed onto Naofumi, even though a summary would make it seem short. However, actually experiencing it was a whole other story. Playing back all of the events in order seemed unreal, but it was his reality now.

He was the destined Shield Hero that would help save this world from ruin.

Those words alone had excited the soul within him—to play out the fantastical worlds that were written in the books he read. It would matter little if he stumbled across from time to time, but he knew that if he needed help, then his friends would be there to help him out whenever they could.

With Myne added to his side, it felt like the skies were the limit.

They were his friends and he'll believe that until the bitter end.

And so, Naofumi dozed off to sleep, unknown to the fateful day that awaited him.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 008 : First Day Combat**

[Naofumi] : "T-Take this!"

[Naofumi] : "Ugh, the monster literally bounced off my fist!"

[Myne] : "Sir Shield Hero, maybe you should leave the monster slaying to me. I can defeat these monsters very quickly."

[Naofumi] : "I just want to see if I can actually kill by myself. It's a little tedious to do it though, so I might just give up on it. I can imagine myself fighting for hours on end and being only able to kill as many as you can take on in a matter of a few seconds."

[Myne] : "Well, we can take it easy if you want. You should get used to this world if anything."

[Naofumi] : "I guess you're right, Myne. Thanks for helping me out!"

[Myne] : "It's my pleasure, Sir Shield Hero. _Really, it is_."

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 009 : Blacksmith and Sword Hero**

[Ren] : "... Hmmph. These weapons are pretty decent. Seen better though."

[Erhart] : "Are you saying you've already seen better? You've been in this world for about a day!"

[Ren] : "Yeah, obviously not here. Haven't scouted the majority of the capital yet. Back in my world, your highest valued weapon on the shelves here were things that people regularly made with their blacksmithing."

[Erhart] : "R-Really? Man, your world must be crazy."

[Ren] : "I'm a fighter, not a blacksmith, so I can't tell you how difficult it might be. However, they're priced in a way that grinding up currency for the weapons isn't that difficult. All you need to do is take down a few wyverns for their materials, and maybe a rare boss drop."

[Erhart] : "Whoa, wait. Did you just say _wyverns_?"

[Ren] : "Yeah. They're pretty strong if you don't know what you're doing, but experts like me are able to take them down with little to no difficulty."

[Erhart] : "Colour me surprised. It seems like our little Sword Boy is much more experienced than I thought."

[Ren] : "... I'm sorry, _what_? _What _did you call me?"

[Erhart] : "Don't like the nickname? I like to give them to customers that I feel like I'll be remembering for future transactions! How about—?"

[Ren] : "How about you don't give me a nickname and mind your own damn business?"

[Naofumi] : "Yep. That's Ren for you…"

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 010 : Stealing**

[Naofumi] : "This [Weapon Copy] ability is surely great! I can carry as many shields as I want without thinking about the trouble of inventory space! That means I could eventually have a shield for every single situation at my disposal!"

[Ren] : "At first, I thought the holy weapons were inconvenient, but if this is the game that the holy weapons are playing, we might have some incentive to start trusting this system. The only sketchy part of this entire thing was the experience lost when the holy weapons are together. Other than that, this is a pretty good system."

[Naofumi] : "Hold on, Ren. I still have a question about [Weapon Copy]."

[Ren] : "I mean, you _could_ refer to the help menu at any time, Naofumi. I don't need to be the one to hold your hand."

[Naofumi] : "I just wanted an excuse to keep up the conversation! Is that so bad?"

[Ren] : "... Fine. What's the question?"

[Naofumi] : "Do we have to _own_ the weapon to be able to copy it?"

[Ren] : "You already know the answer to that. You just copied the [Iron Buckler] without paying for it. What do you think the answer is?"

[Naofumi] : "Then, isn't the entire [Weapon Copy] ability supporting stealing then?"

[Ren] : "I… I feel like we shouldn't be talking about this specific matter _here_."

[Naofumi] : "Ren, I technically took a shield without paying for it."

[Ren] : "And the shield is still there, on the shelves. Now, can we _please _stop talking about this when we're still in Erhart's—?"

[Erhart] : "Yep, I can see how you might have a problem with that. Moreso, _I_ might have a slight problem with that."

[Ren] : "_And this is why I tried to avoid that topic!_"

[Naofumi] : "W-Wait! Erhart, we didn't mean to steal! I can pay it back!"

[Erhart] : "Actually, I was just teasing you. You seem like a good kid. Even though it does sound like stealing, it's so niche that it feels like there's no point in restricting it. And it's not like you're deteriorating the weapons or removing it from the shelf either. Feel free to copy anything you want, but make sure you're buying something else so that I don't feel like I'm losing anything."

[Naofumi] : "R-Right! I'll do just that! How about this accessory!? This looks… pretty?"

[Ren] : "_... Naofumi, you're an idiot in your own right._"

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 012 : Myne**

[Ren] : "I can't believe it. Was Aldrecht so incompetent that he managed to get an adventurer that didn't even know the basics? That could have been a fatal mistake on his end, if Myne had never reminded Naofumi of the entire party system and monster drops."

[Ren] : "Still though, that girl seems familiar… And even sounds familiar…"

[Ren] : "_Where the hell have I seen her before?_"

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**


	7. Chapter 1-06 : Innocent Adoration

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

Elena Haven, a woman who specialized in magic, but wielded a sword as her main hand. She had a mixture of swordplay and magic casting type of combat. Her black clothing was light enough to make her the fastest one on the team, but Motoyasu was concerned about the worst case scenario.

The monsters were weak enough that it wouldn't do much harm to her, but Motoyasu couldn't imagine letting a beautiful woman work too hard by his side. Her brown hair and hazel eyes made it a treat to look over, even if her expressions were more stern in the field. However, her smiles were the brightest out of the group, as he caught a glimpse as the group settled down to return to the capital.

'_High seven, low eight._'

Lesty Artcrus, a woman who was assigned to be the support with her amplification magic and healing, was another beauty that Motoyasu had the pleasure to work with. She dressed in a somewhat provocative way, exposing her slim midriff in her two piece outfit, similar to an exotic dancer. The amount of skin she showed while covering just enough to lure his heart was distracting on its own accord, feeling like she knew what she was doing.

Though, the clothing allowed her to be very flexible in her movements, so it wasn't all sexual appeal. Her rosen braid hanging over her shoulder had been the icing on the cake and her outspoken attitude was charming to his soul. She smiled much more than Elena and was trying her hardest to be as close to the Spear Hero as possible, talking about the most trivial things on their way back.

'_Thank you, greater beings. Definitely a low nine._'

However, Rino Rathos was on the lower scale in terms of her appearance. She wasn't as sexy as Lesty, nor was she as elegant as Elena. She was kinda on the shorter scale too. However, what she did have in his strength is her enthusiasm which made her the final piece in the perfect three-woman squadron—the attribute of cuteness.

Her green tunic dress had covered up everything except her hands and ankles, fitting how she was the youngest of the group. She even had the cute red ribbon on her chest and the typical mage's hat to add to her visual strengths.

'_She's gotta be a low seven… Maybe high seven? Maybe, but I have to rank her lower than Elena… Or is she higher in her own right? Damn, she's a tough one…_'

"Sir Motoyasu, we're at the gate now!"

Rino shouted to alert them, though they had eyes for themselves. The gate wasn't something one would casually miss, but Motoyasu didn't say anything, He actually preferred someone with that type of perky energy in the group. It was extremely adorable.

This group was pretty much the perfect balance, but there was still a small hole of disappointment. He sincerely wanted to party up with his friends and go on many adventures together as a team, but if the holy weapons were going to be non-compliant, then there wasn't anything he could do.

It wasn't as if he was going to ignore his current party.

'_Yeah, I won't ignore them or push them away. Not ever again_.'

* * *

**)**—**(\**IV**| Chapter 1-06 |**IV**/)|**—**(  
)\\( Innocent Adoration )/(**

* * *

"I know that we're stopping to have a meal together, but which one do you suggest?"

Motoyasu pondered, rolling through his possible selections as they walked through the streets.

He couldn't stop thinking about Naofumi's food, but he knew he couldn't just walk up to him and ask him to make a full course meal for four people, as much as he wanted to.

"It's best that we all agree on something we can all enjoy," Motoyasu continued. "We have to celebrate our first day of being together after all, and we got the money to afford any restaurant you want! _I think._ It'll be on me, so don't worry too much about the price!"

"You're so kind, Sir Motoyasu," Lesty smiled. "If it's alright with you, we should try [Acquisition and Delight]. I hear it's one of the favourites of the capital and I, myself, have been there a few times before!"

"[Acquisition and Delight]...?" Rino mumbled the name, trying to remember it. A few seconds passed as she widened her eyes. "Wait, isn't that restaurant expensive!?"

"If Sir Motoyasu is paying, I don't see the problem in eating there," Elena added. "Besides, it's not really my first time being there. My parents have taken me there on special occasions before and the food's pretty good. Well, it _is_ expensive, so it better _be good_."

"E-Elena, you too!?" Rino held her head. "I could barely afford a plate!"

Lesty clapped her hands together and smiled at the younger girl. "Only the more reason for you to come with us!"

"Who even are you two anyways!?"

Elena shrugged. "Me? I'm just the daughter of a merchant and a retired knight turned to nobility. I'm working as an adventurer because I like the lifestyle. I don't usually head to that restaurant by myself though. Frankly, it's too outlandish for me. I never liked being treated like royalty anyways."

Lesty chuckled behind her hand. "And for me? I'm simply another normal adventurer, but I _do _have ties to a few noble families. One of which, being the royal family themself since I personally know the first princess."

Rino froze at her feet.

"... _Whoa,_" she whispered. "_I am out of my league here_."

"Is that so?" Lesty asked, curiously. "What's your background?"

"Normal family, normal friends… _normal me_…" Rino answered as if she had already lost the competition. "_I honestly don't have anything interesting…_"

"Don't be like that!" Lesty clapped her hands. "I'm sure you have something interesting that trumps all of us!"

Rino's eyes were increasingly becoming dazed. "What exactly could I have that could trump a daughter of a merchant, an adventurer with royal family connections, and the Spear Hero?"

"Well, I don't think backgrounds are going to be important," Motoyasu walked up to Rino, patting her on the shoulder. "Us four are a team now, and we should act like one. Whatever origin everyone might come from, we're still fighting on the same side at the end of the day."

"That is, if you're going to let us," Lesty said in a teasing manner.

"Huh?" Motoyasu was genuinely confused, blankly blinking. "What do you mean by that?"

"You were telling us to take it easy once you got into the habit of things, right?"

"O-Oh, that…" Motoyasu chuckled. "I didn't want you three to work more than you have to. I know you girls might be adventurers already, but for now, you should probably take it easy. Let me do the heavy lifting by myself. Plus, blood staining your clothes and equipment really doesn't suit your pretty appearances."

"Oh, Sir Motoyasu," Lesty smiled softly, "you're such a sweetheart _and_ you're handsome to boot!"

"It's not like I can complain against that," Elena said, holding her composure. "If you're letting me take it easy, then I'll do just that. Just don't bite off more you can chew, Sir Motoyasu, or else that'll spell more trouble for us than it would for you."

"_P-Pretty…_?" In contrast, Rino was on a separate plane of existence. "_T-The Spear Hero… just called me pretty…!_" Her face burned up as the other party members chuckled at her nervousness.

"Maybe we check out that restaurant then." Motoyasu suggested. "If half of our group has been there already and they say that it was a good establishment, then the remainder should probably be brought over to see ourselves. What do you think, Rino? Care for an expensive bite? It's on me!"

"_P-Pretty… The Spear Hero…_"

"Uh, Rino?"

Motoyasu tapped her shoulder again, snapping out of her daydream.

"Y-Yes!?"

"Let's go to [Acquisition and Delight]. All four of us and maybe you can tell me how good the food is during your first time there!"

Rino stammered, but smiled. "Y-Yes! I would love that, Sir Motoyasu!"

"Great!"

Seeing that all his party members were happy, Motoyasu felt his own content building up. However, the first few days were probably going to be the easy parts. It's when they've started to spend more and more time together that Motoyau have to slowly become more careful.

More selective with his words, more attentive of their attitudes, keeping track of their relationship with the other girls in the group—it was all things that Motoyasu knew he needed to keep in mind, but there weren't any guides on how to do this anywhere. He simply used his own intuition and experiences to guide his future decisions, but it wasn't always perfect.

He sometimes lacked the understanding, but he always kept trying.

It was all necessary to give them all the happy ending that they deserve.

"_For all that walk along the teachings of the Cardinal Heroes, let them see the light that shines over them. We must follow their paths and entrust ourselves to the guidance of their discipline._"

A heavenly voice came from a small crowd further down the streets. Motoyasu was drawn by the soft tone, but he tried to keep on track of what they were trying to do. However, it looked like Rino was distracted by the voice as well.

"What's going on there?"

Using the opportunity, Motoyasu decided to sate his curiosity.

"We should probably check it out."

Both Motoyasu and Rino led the way for Lesty and Elena to follow.

As they came closer to the crowd, Motoyasu's tall height helped him see what was going on past the heads of the crowd. Rino, on the other hand, was struggling due to her short stature. She was asking Motoyasu to be her eyes, so he looked onwards to see where the voice had been coming; it originated from the center where the crowd encircled.

There was a girl that was a bit younger than Motoyasu standing there, reading off a book. She wore a nun's attire with an emblem sewn on the long skirt. She hadn't been wearing the typical nun's headdress, but to keep her hair tidy, there was a headband with a similar emblem on it. Her long and darkly-tone violet hair being let loose had been the result of that.

"_To hold their words in our thoughts, we must practice what the Cardinal Heroes have shown to us, especially now in a time where they have come to grant us their protection; we must respond likewise and respect their teachings._

"_From the Sword Hero, we must learn to be strong against the darkness and sins that may lurk in our hearts. A weak heart is what comtemplates humans to turn their backs against the light in search for a simpler answer, where all you must have is the strength to walk forever onwards to the light."_

Her voice had been serene, somenost alluring, and it was incredible how spontaneous it sounded like even though it was obvious that she was simply reading from the book. Her expressions were kept peaceful, yet Motoyasu felt her words become heavy.

"_From the Bow Hero, we must learn to have good judgement of our decisions. What may appear good would be unwise and may appear malicious would be unfoolish. Let his teachings remain in our thoughts as we go about our lives, always remain fair and honest while never betraying our own code of justice._"

"Sir Motoyasu, we should probably leave." Elena walked up beside him. "It's just another preaching from the Church of Three Heroes. The emblem on that nun's attire makes it obvious."

"Another preaching?" Motoyasu glanced at the clothes in more detail, noticing that the emblem was actually a combination of the sword, spear, and the bow. It all blended together uniformly and it adhered to the holy weapons, but Motoyasu was stunned to not see a shield there.

Naofumi was just as important to the Cardinal Heroes, was he not?

"Yeah, they typically just do these types of things for the normal civilians," Elena went on. "Most of the time, the crowd would be smaller than this and the others would go to ignore them. Given the circumstances of the waves of destruction and the summoning of the heroes, I think people are starting to turn to religion to help them get out of this crisis."

"_From the Spear Hero, we keep our loyalty and entrust ourselves to others, but from others to ourselves. To each other, we must give loyalty because together, we are unbreakable. The bonds that they showed us overcame all adversaries and if we are to overcome difficult obstacles that would otherwise cast us into despair, we must be together._"

Motoyasu was mesmerized by how the Church of Three Heroes saw him, but he wondered if he was truly right to uphold that reputation. It sounded like he needed to fill in large gaps to keep them happy, but if it was bonds that they were talking about, it sounded simple.

He was already friends with the other Cardinal Heroes anyways.

"_And from the Shield Hero_—"

"Shield _Hero_!?" A boisterous roar came from the crowd, drawing everyone's attention. "Really!? You still dare praise that demon!?"

Motoyasu frowned at the accusation.

"... _Did he just call Naofumi a demon_?"

The man walked into the clearing and started making an outburst. "He's a demon, through and though! When has he ever done anything to help us out!?"

The nun was perplexed, not thinking there would be such an interruption in her preachings. Her expression shrunk, saying that she really didn't want to be in this position anymore.

"_P-Please_, calm down," she softly responded. "The ancient text that belongs to the journey of the old Shield Heroes have not been deciphered, but he is a figure among the holy weapons. Even if he is a demon, we must use his example, so that we can avoid his transgressions. He of the holy shield is still someone important."

"Seeing you yap about the Shield Hero is making me pissed off? Aren't you supposed to be the Church of the Three Heroes!? What type of nonsense are you spreading about the Shield Demon!?"

"I-I'm… I'm just… reading my written homilies…!" The nun was starting to get scared, tearing up and was about to cry. "I-It got approved by…" She suddenly tightened her lips, as if she was trying to stop herself from finishing the sentence.

"I think you're a fake, trying to steer us off from the true terror that was summoned into the capital!"

His hand balled up into a fist, yet no one looked like they were going to stop him.

"I don't even want to hear about the Shield Demon! He's probably off and about, trying to figure out a way to screw us all over!"

"P-Please! Remain calm! Violence is not going to solve anything!"

The man threw back his fist and launched it at the nun. She winced and covered her face with her book, holding her breath. She stayed still for a bit until she realized that the attack never came. If by some miracle, the man changed his mind halfway through, she would have given her thanks to the holy beings.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Motoyasu ran through the crowd quickly and caught the man's attack before it landed.

He glared at him with something akin to disappointment and anger, but he noticed that his face had been a bit red. It was entirely possible that he had already been drunk, but at this time of the day, it was almost incredible that someone thought that this was a good idea.

Nevertheless, Motoyasu's feelings took control of his mouth.

"You don't just randomly attack people out in public, dude."

"To hell with you! Who do you think you are!?"

The man pulled back and swung his other fist at Motoyasu. For what little combat training he held, he'd been in enough drunken fights to understand the basics, as sad as it might sound. If Naofumi ever heard about those moments, he didn't think he would get off easily.

Motoyasu stepped back, dodging the slow strike, before retaliating with his own punch into the man's face. He followed up with a heavy kick forward. The man's body fell backwards on the ground as he glared at the blonde newcomer in disbelief.

"You _also_ don't talk shit about any of my friends like that." Motoyasu clapped his fist into his hand. "Shield _Demon_, you say? I'll tell you a little secret. Naofumi Iwatani is the _furthest _thing from a demon that you'll ever encounter."

"W-Who…?" the man whimpered on the ground, dragging himself away. "Who are you?"

"Me?" His red eyes glared downwards. "My name is Motoyasu Kitamura. I'm the _Spear Hero_."

The moment that he answered truthfully, the man's expression turned to shock as he darted backwards onto his feet, pushing through the crowd. There was a huge cluster of murmurs running around, but after the scene Motoyasu made, the crowd started to dissipate.

Motoyasu glanced around as his party members came up closer to him.

"Sorry about that. I kinda broke your audience."

The nun's face was filled with a blush, but she managed to recompose herself. She shook her head and regained steady breathing, holding her book to her modest chest. "N-No, I should be thanking you instead, Lord Motoyasu. I think I'd rather cut my preachings off early than to get beaten up by a drunk man…!"

"Are you okay? I hope he didn't scare you."

"I-I'm fine! I just wished there was something I could do to show my appreciation! Oh, I know! I'll keep you in my prayers to the Spear Hero to keep you…" The nun paused herself, coming to a realization. "Huh… I wonder how that would work, sending prayers to and for the person in question."

"Well, considering how you were talking about the Spear Hero," Motoyasu chuckled, "I think I still have shoes to fill here. You can probably make those prayers to the former Spear Heroes."

"A-Ah! You're right! I can!" The excited nun made Motoyasu's heart fluttered as she bounced innocently. "Though, I feel like I can do something more…!"

"Something more?"

"You're the current Spear Hero! It would be terrible of me to simply let you do a good deed for me without doing anything in return!" The nun widened her eyes as an idea came to her. "Lord Motoyasu! Could you please come with me to the church? I'd like to present you with something that might help you on your journey!"

Motoyasu glanced backwards to see his party members' responses, but all of them seemed indifferent to the decision. It didn't look like anyone was desperately hungry and beside, food tasted better when they were trying to fill up their stomachs from almost empty.

"Please lead the way, uh…"

"It's Sister Silivria!" She bowed towards him. "It's a great pleasure to meet you, Lord Motoyasu!"

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

"Sister Altara!" She called out to one of the nuns in the lobby of the church. "I'm back!"

The church itself was something right out of a fantasy setting. The outside looked like a typical large church, right down to the stained windows. Over the top of the entrance, the symbol on Silirivia's emblem was present and yet again, there wasn't a shield.

The interior led them immediately into one of the places of worship where all the pews were, granted they walked past the rounding corridor. The ceilings were tall as Motoyasu looked up in amazement while there were statues of nondescript people holding swords, spears, and bows.

There were a few people praying and about the same amount of religious workers ranging from the nuns that were tending the environment and performing their jobs to the knights with a different armour set to the ones from the castle, standing around and being on guard.

One of the sisters that had been praying at the front pew glanced backwards to the incoming group. There was a quiet disdain on her face, but she sighed, finishing up her prayers as she stood from her seat.

"Sister Silivria. What are you doing back so early? Were you not supposed to be out on the weekly public preaching?" The group walked up to the older nun by probably a few years. "We can't delay any of that, especially not now when the Cardinal Heroes have summoned into Melromarc."

"There was an incident and I ended up meeting this person!" Silivria stepped out of the way and showed Motoyasu to Altara. "It's the Spea—!"

Altara threw her hand against Silivria's mouth as the people in the church glanced over momentarily before moving back to their worship.

"First, please use your indoor voice, Sister Silivria. I can't remember how many times I have to remind you of that." Silivria made a few muffled noises before Altara sighed and pulled her hand away. "Second, I realized the moment I saw him. You don't need to shout his title, especially not here. That's the easiest way to pull these people within prayer right now out of their focus."

Silivria made two quick nods.

Altara glanced over to the spoken Spear Hero. "And you? You are, if my memory serves me correctly, Motoyasu… Kitamura?"

"Yep, that's my name."

"What brings someone like you here?"

"I wanted to give him—!"

Altara slammed her hand on Silivria's mouth again, remaining her eye contact with Motoyasu.

"Ehrm… There was an incident that happened in the streets and I helped Silivria out of it. She wanted to give me something to help me on my travels as thanks."

"Giving something?" Altara glanced at the younger nun while removing her hand. "What were you planning on giving to him? And, for the love of the holy weapons, please use your indoor voice. You always sound great when you preach, but you're a wreck when it comes anywhere else."

Silivria took a deep breath. "You know? The Dragon's Hourglass? I remember reading somewhere that the ancient heroes used their environment and took those beings into their own weapons, and I remember looking at an analytic text where they believed this was more literal and metaphorical."

"What's the point you're trying to make?"

"I wanted to give Lord Motoyasu the sands of the Dragon's Hourglass. Surely, he will be able to put that to use!"

Motoyasu nodded at the thought. He discovered the ability to absorb materials into his spear earlier in the fields to unlock alternate spears he could use. It did sound helpful for him to grab some more potential materials while he was at it. Sands from an ancient relic _did_ sound like it would be a good unlock.

Altara glanced between the starry-eyed nun, the Spear Hero and his party members. She gave off one more sigh before she walked past them.

"Fine. Please follow me, Lord Motoyasu."

Silivria went on first before him and his party members went on afterwards. Motoyasu was the last in the group, but as he walked back into the corridor, he felt something tugging at him. It was as if his spear was about to fly off into the distance, even if it wasn't moving at all.

Motoyasu glanced back to the general direction and saw that his attention was being attracted to the altar up in front, where they probably went about, doing religious masses. More specifically, Motoyasu could feel an exact area to where his spear took him.

Behind the altar, there had been three statues that each raised their weapons up high which followed up into the skies where the church's emblem was held. As the backdrop, it was a mural of the different Cardinal Heroes, but he drew closer to the weapons that they were holding.

He felt like if he wasn't careful, the stone weapons would have sucked up his soul.

"Lord Motoyasu?" Silivria's calls reached out for him. "Are you coming?"

"A-Ah! Y-Yes, I am!"

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

The Dragon's Hourglass was inside a circular room, dropping sand into the bottom. Though, it wasn't as simple as a single fall. There were many chambers within the hourglass, all steadily transporting its own sands from one to another like a small waterfall.

It was mesmerizing, but the columns and detailed supports that held the hourglass together only added to the amazing sight. The columns had been white, standing tall with all types of shapes and figures as it went up. The supports around the hourglass itself had been golden in colour, with two dragons at the top of the patterned waves.

"I'll just need a moment to extract some sand for Lord Motoyasu," Altara said the moment they stepped into the area. "Please, just stay put while I do so."

As Altara walked up to the Dragon's Hourglass up the steps, Motoyasu stayed silent as he felt like the Dragon's Hourglass was calling for him to step up with the nun.

"Well, this was quite the detour, Sir Motoyasu," Elena said. "Still though, I didn't expect us to be entering the Church of Three Heroes like this."

"You keep talking like you have something against the Church," Lesty mentioned. "What's wrong? Did they kick a baby into the streets or something?"

"No… I'm just not a big fan of religion," Elena responded. "The Church of Three Heroes is no different and it pretty much serves as another large organization in my eyes."

"W-Well, I grew up in the outskirts of Melromarc where religion wasn't a big deal and so, the thought of the Cardinal Heroes usually included all four," Rino responded. "I've heard that there were a few nuns going around, trying to preach teachings that included the Shield Hero as an example, but it's just a bit weird hearing it from the Church of Three Heroes."

"What's with that preaching anyways?" Elena asked the present nun. "A few months ago, I never heard anything about the Shield Hero from your mouths."

"Erhm…" Silivia awkwardly hummed. "I've been told not to publicly talk about the reasoning, but it's supposed to be a small trial run in the teachings, supposingly. We ourselves write the homilies and take them out to the streets, but once we come back to the Church, we're not supposed to talk about the Shield Hero."

"That's a bit… weird," Rino said.

Motoyasu thought back to the drunken man and what he said, paired with Aldrecht's reasoning for the lack of Naofumi's party members. It didn't exactly match up, from what he remembered.

"Is there a reason why the Shield Hero is looked down upon?" he asked. "I-I mean, I made fun of him for having a shield, but Naofumi knows I'm just kidding around! I don't actually mean any of those jokes! Calling him a demon sounds like it's being taken too far."

"I don't know the particular history about it," Lesty responded, "but I think it's about the Shield Hero turning his back against humanity?"

"I only know about the basics out of the _Record of The Holy Weapons_," Elena answered.

"Oh, you read that history book too, Elena?" Rino asked. "The library nearby my home had it in stock, so I remember when I was younger that I would go over to read it! It was always a dream of mine to accompany one of the Cardinal Heroes, and here we are now! _I still think I'm dreaming_."

"Dreaming, huh?" Lesty chuckled and playfully pulled on Rino's cheeks. "Do you think you're dreaming now?"

"A-Ah…! Ouch, ouch, ouch!" Rino whimpered. "Lesty, that hurts!"

Elena ignored them. "Well, I only read the book because my father forced me to. That's why I can only recall the basic information from it."

"... Wait, what?" Motoyasu glanced at the three girls in a shock. "There's a book here called the _Record of The Holy Weapons_?"

"Uh, yeah," Elena plainly answered. "It's just a book depicting the legends of the Cardinal Heroes. It's nothing special."

Motoyasu blinked at her response, remembering the way that they were transferred into the world. As Ren's words echoed in his head and Naofumi's summary of the book, he tried to think about it logically, but even that logic had to hold onto some supernatural nature, but that book had to have served as a catalyst for them somehow.

'_Was it entirely possible that the girl I can't remember came from this world?_'

'_More importantly, will I be able to meet her? I know she was angelic, but… I think everyone wanted answers, especially Ren._'

"If you want to check it out, Lord Motoyasu," Siliviria spoke from the sidelines, "we have the book in our vast library in the lower floors."

Motoyasu considered it, but he ultimately shook his head.

"I'll probably check it out later." He quickly glanced at his party members. "After this, I still have to go have dinner. It's not like the book is going anywhere."

"Ah, right," she sheepishly smiled. "I understand, Lord Motoyasu! But to answer your previous concern as to why we disinclude the Shield Hero, it's because he's—"

"Lord Motoyasu." Altara's calls for him brought his attention to the hourglass. She stood at the top of the steps as she held up a small pouch, presumingly with the sands within it. "For helping out one of our members, Silivria and I would like to thank you with this gift."

Motoyasu walked up the steps and held the pouch in his hand. His spear immediately reacted as he brought the pouch closer to its gem. It brighted in a red light and absorbed the red sand, sucking it up from the bag in a swirl until the bag had been empty.

A notification appeared on his screen.

**[Dragon's Hourglass Sand Spear] +0  
(Special Effect) : Portal Spear  
(Spirit Enhancement Bonus) : None  
(Status Enhancement Bonus) : None**

Even though it didn't seem like he was a high enough level to use the weapon, he could still observe it from his menu. From what he saw, the skill attached looked very helpful once he'll be able to use it, but that was just a guess.

He was locked away from it by a level requirement of fifty, which was still some ways to go.

"Thank you, Sister Altara!"

"I was simply fulfilling Sister Silivria's request. If you have anyone to thank, it's her."

Altara walked down the steps first, but as Motoyasu was about to follow her, his attention was pulled back to the Dragon's Hourglass in front of him.

Motoyasu suddenly heard a high-pitched beeping noise as his spear started to react again. This time, the spear's red gem had shined a light to connect up with the Dragon's Hourglass, affixing itself into the center of it where a similar jewel was imbued.

Suddenly, a number appeared in the corner of his vision.

**[595:53]**

"H-Huh…?"

Motoyasu stared at the number, seeing that it was steadily ticking down. He quickly realized that it was countdown and remembering what the hourglass was being used for, he realized that the number represented how long they had until the next wave came.

That looked like it was about to start in three weeks.

"At least that's pretty convenient."

"H-Hey…? Sir Motoyasu?" Rino had approached the hourglass at the steps, looking up to the Spear Hero.

"Want something, Rino?"

"Can we go to eat now? I'm starving right now…"

When Rino's stomach grumbled at the same time, Motoyasu couldn't hold back his amusement.

"Yeah, of course!" Motoyasu walked down the steps. "Where did we agree on again? [Acquisition and Delight]?"

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

Saying their goodbyes to Silivria who wanted Motoyasu to come visit again someday, the party went off to the restaurant. It was located, obviously, in the wealthy side of the capital and once they found the location, they were guided to their seats and ordered their meals.

It wasn't as if Motoyasu didn't enjoy it; he wholeheartedly did, but the meals themselves were a bit lacking. It was probably because he was more used to Naofumi's meals, if anything. The smiles on the girls' faces were enough to make him filled, but it noticed the cheque was considerably hefty for a restaurant.

His wallet took a bigger hit when the girls got distracted by an accessory shop and Motoyasu let them pick out one that was on him. Really, only Rino held back on the price compared to Elena and Lesty, but Motoyasu's financial end still took a dent. He was left with about half of what he started with and at this rate, he's probably going to end up broke.

However, he remembered that guild halls existed.

Back in _Emerald Online_, guild halls were places where players could take guild requests and from what Lothringen said, it sounded like it had the same deal here. He could probably make a few coins over there and try to make back the amount he blasted through today.

He only wanted to sign up and get the tutorial, so he ended up bringing everyone to an inn for the day. The sun was still setting when he decided to head out for the guild hall, bringing along Elena with him. She looked like she wanted to do other things, but given that Lesty and Rino were going to settle down for the night, Elena reluctantly followed.

The guild hall was merely down a couple of streets, towering over some of the other nearby buildings in height and thickness. There were many adventurers of all kinds still wandering around at this hour, but even then, he imagined guilds to be more rowdy. In reality, it was the exact opposite, running itself like any other business. Though, there had been a tavern within the guild hall, so perhaps all the rowdy people had been in that section of the building.

"Before anything, Sir Motoyasu, we need to get you an adventurer's identification card. Everything has to be handled properly by the receptionist since they keep track of everything from the people that send in the request to the people that accept the request."

As Motoyasu walked on, he started to notice all of the different styles that the adventurers had. Some had full armour, while others were lighter with a single layer of clothing. Some were obvious spellcasters, while others were equipped with melee weapons. Some looked like hardened veterans while others completely new.

One of them even looked like Itsuki.

'... _Wait._'

Motoyasu double-took himself.

"I-Itsuki! Is that you!?"

The teenager had turned around, affirming that Motoyasu's calls were not in vain and causing Elena to turn around as well. He waved to Motoyasu, unintentionally gesturing for him to come closer.

"Motoyasu, you came here too?"

With Itsuki, there had been a man in an extravagant dark-coloured cloak, giving vibes of the generic wizard that could be seen in fantasy media. His rustic red hair had been blocking one of his eyes with its bangs, bouncing a bit as he turned over to the unexpected visitor to see what the fuss was about.

"It's the Spear Hero," the mage bowed. "Greetings."

"I didn't expect to see the Bow Hero here either," Elena commented.

"You know," Itsuki said, "I didn't think you would be the first person I meet here. Honestly, I thought Ren would have come here before you, but I'm glad I didn't bet on that now."

"What are you doing here, Itsuki?" Motoyasu pumped up his fist, excited from seeing his friend again. "Oh, wait! Don't tell me, I can make a guess! You came here to… make an adventurer's ID!"

"And judging from your own guess, I'd say you were planning to do the same." Itsuki nodded, glancing over to the wall. Over there, there had been bulletin boards with papers nailed on in an organized fashion. "I thought I would get Welst here to show me around. That's where we take all of our unique requests. Anything that's trivial is taken at the front reception."

"That would be good to know!" Motoyasu smiled. "Hey, here's an idea! Why don't we both get our cards at the same time? It'll be great!"

"Actually, I think it's a bit too late for that."

Itsuki popped a card out from his inventory and spun it around, letting the face side point towards Motoyasu. Unexpectedly, the card looked quite slick, especially for its design. It had Itsuki's picture on the left while there were details on the right. However, Motoyasu couldn't read what was on it.

"... Wait, what does that say?"

"Not sure."

However, Itsuki pointed to his card brazeningly. "However! It's my first step to becoming a true hero! I can start taking on unique requests to help out the people of this land!" Itsuki turned his card back, gazing at it longingly. "I still have to do a few fodder requests first before I can rank up to start accepting the unique ones, but I'll be there in no time."

"Fodder requests…? As in…?"

"It's just the normal monster killing or material gathering requests. They just want to make sure you're committed to quests or not." Itsuki sent the card back into his inventory. "Just the usual stuff. Pretty sure _Emerald Online_ had them."

"Oh, I didn't know that's what they were called."

"... I don't think I used any gaming terminology."

"It doesn't sound like it'll take too long. Just accept and bank all those fodder requests. Afterwards, you can just go on and complete those quests in one swoop!"

"Are you insane? It's a lot of requests you'd have to complete all at once!"

"Maybe so, but I usually do that in _Emerald Online_. Anyways, how's the grinding going?" Motoyasu asked. "I hope it's not going too badly!"

"It's going fine. I've just been taking things slowly since it's the first day."

"The Bow Hero's a natural," the mage followed. "He's pretty good at nailing his shots."

"Of course he would!" Motoyasu came closer and wrapped his arm over Itsuki, who played around. "He's my friend after all!"

"Yeah, glad he's on our side." The mage looked at Itsuki, but his voice started to turn dark.. "He's… _really_ good with his shots. It's almost scary as to how many headshots he got on those monsters."

"What about you, Motoyasu?" Itsuki asked. "Where are you at in terms of experience points?"

"Me? Almost at LV3!"

Itsuki scoffed. "Oh? And I thought I was going slowly. I actually got LV3 already!"

"N-No way! Already!?"

"If you think this was nothing, you probably check up Ren sometimes. I _promise_ you that he's already at something like LV5 by now. He doesn't mess around when it comes to farming."

Meanwhile, the two companions glanced at each other while their heroes were talking mindlessly with each other.

"... Huh. Didn't know Sir Itsuki was already on good terms with the Spear Hero."

"Well, Sir Motoyasu offhandedly did say that the Shield Hero was also his friend."

"Oh, I didn't realize all the Cardinal Heroes were already on good terms with each other. I heard in the stories that they would usually be in conflict with each other before banding together."

"I guess that's what happens when all four Cardinal Heroes get summoned all in one place."

The mage looked over to Elena, scratching his head, before extending his hand.

"I guess we'll be fighting alongside each other in the waves. My name's Welst."

Elena shook his hand. "Mine is Elena. You seem familiar. Are you an adventurer from the capital?"

"Y-Yeah, Castletown's my home base. Saw the opportunity to party up with the Cardinal Heroes and sent in an application."

As the two heroes conversed along with their companions, murmurs started to rise up from the other adventurers. The attention of the adventurers were being drawn towards the front entrance as their group noticed the sudden shift in atmosphere. It went from a bustling crowd to the sound of a cane clanking clearly against the floor.

Both Itsuki and Motoyasu looked through the crowd, unintentionally blending in, as they tried to see what was going on. Motoyasu let go of his friend to straight himself up.

"What's going on?" Motoyasu asked Elena.

"Not sure."

However, Welst was the first one to notice, widening his eyes.

"Welst, did you see what's happening?"

"T-That's… rare." Welst rubbed his eyes, just in case he was seeing things. "I think that's the [Lord of Calamity] coming into the guild hall right now."

Itsuki raised his eyebrows at the title. "[Lord of Calamity]? That sounds like a villain's name. Is he some high-ranking adventurer that has questionable motives or something? If he's the type to rain calamity like his title says, I'll have to keep him in mind. We can't have people like that roaming around."

Itsuki, just short of being able to see over the heads of the adventurers, had been imagining what this adventurer could look like. He first thought about a demon, but they probably wouldn't be allowed to even step foot into the guild halls. Maybe it was a really powerful man with Ren's fashion sense? Or perhaps it was—

"Wait, that's Aldrecht."

Itsuki nodded at Motoyasu's words. "Yeah, it could even look like Aldrecht." Itsuki then realized what he said. "Wait, no! That's not what I meant! Aldrecht doesn't fit the name of [Lord of Calamity]!"

"Huh?" Welst glanced at Itsuki. "Aldrecht is the name of the king's retainer, right? Then Lord Aldrecht is the name of the [Lord of Calamity]. He's passing through right there."

Parsing past the crowd, Itsuki was able to see Aldrecht walk by them at a distance. He didn't seem to notice them, but he was walking directly to the reception desk alongside two strong-looking knights.

"Wait, I don't get it." Motoyasu narrowed his eyes. "How is an old man like that holding a title that sounds like a final boss?"

"Would you rather [Royal Battle Mage]?" Elena asked rhetorically. "That's his official rank within the Melromarcian Council."

"I think it's less of the name that surprises me," Itsuki pondered, "and more of the mystery of the reason."

"Well," Welst looked over as Aldrecht approached the reception, "it's probably a long story, but I think I could summarize it into the essentials. It's one of the favourite stories that adventurers tell each other about from time to time, especially between mages."

"Yeah, I heard that the [Lord of Calamity] is quite a figurehead among mages."

Welst coughed, clearing his throat. His eyes seemingly dazzled, a contrast to how Itsuki perceived him from the entire day.

"Basically, there was this big war decades ago. The enemies were trying their hand at world domination, everyone tried to stop them, etcetera etcetera. One of the people that helped to end the war was Lord Aldrecht. When the war began, Melromarc was depending on the king since he himself was quite the powerful mage, the strongest one out there. Lord Aldrecht himself was rather strong too, but he couldn't keep up with the king's output and the enemies were getting tough to deal with."

"A war a few decades ago?" Itsuki had the thought creep up his spine. "Damn."

"Anyways, there was this ancient relic that was discovered years before the war started, and Lord Aldrecht, being the genius scholar that he was, decided that there was no other choice, but to tinker with that relic. What resulted was nothing short of a miracle."

There was almost a chuckle underneath Welst's voice.

"The genius mage created a weapon of mass destruction out of the ancient relic that brought down calamity to what it pointed it at. It used a ton of energy, but it got the job done. He eventually gained the title [Lord of Calamity] for those very same calamitous moments he brought into the war."

"I've heard about those moments," Elena mentioned. "My father was a soldier during that war and he said that without Lord Aldrecht's contributions, they would have lost far more battles and far more soldiers than they could have imagined."

"That weapon sounds incredible," Motoyasu gasped. "I wonder if they still have it."

"It's long gone by now. They trashed it. It was _so_ powerful that the resulting peace treaty of the war's end required Melromarc to _destroy_ it because the other countries were so scared by that weapon. Though, it took up too much energy and ended up being a piece of trash by the end, so they really had no incentive to keep it around anyways."

"Was it a staff or something?" Itsuki asked.

"The thing is that nobody actually knows. People said that it was a sword, others said it was a spear; another group would say a bow, while there were few that claimed it was a shield. Lord Aldrecht wouldn't say anything about the weapon once it was destroyed, so I guess the mystery lies within him and him alone."

As the receptionist bowed to Aldrecht, they walked over and had another guild worker show Aldrecht and his knights up the stairs. The steps were straight and turned around to reach the center. It was reflected similarly on the other side.

"They're going up _those _stairs?" Welst pondered out loud. "That could only mean that Lord Aldrecht is meeting up with the guildmaster. Wonder what he's trying to do?"

"Well, it really doesn't matter to us, does it?" Elena shrugged. "I rather not peek my head through to check. It's probably not our business anyways."

"_Okay, I was just curious…_" Welst whispered under his breath.

Both Motoyasu and Itsuki chuckled in the background.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

Once Motoyasu got his adventurer's license with Itsuki standing in for moral support, it was back to the inn for the day. Motoyasu and Elena said their partings with Itsuki and Welst as they headed back to their inn. Motoyasu decided to grab something to drink first while Elena went up to her room first.

"One gin, please."

"The hell's a _gin_?"

Sitting down at the inn's tavern, Motoyasu somehow forgot that this was a different world.

"... Give me something that's a little on the weaker side. Surprise me on what it is."

"... Sure thing, I guess."

As the barkeeper went on with Motoyasu's order, he heard footsteps approaching him. He turned his head around to check if the footsteps were really for him, but he was surprised to see a familiar face.

"M-Myne? What are you doing here?"

"I thought I could surprise you, Sir Motoyasu," she responded, smiling.

She walked up normally and took a seat next to Motoyasu.

"I thought you were supposed to be with Naofumi!"

"He had a lot to drink earlier, so he went up before the night even fell."

Motoyasu gasped. "You _didn't_! How did you get Naofumi to drink!?"

"Huh?" There was a genuine surprise on Myne's face. "I… I simply asked him to."

"Seriously!? Whenever I try to invite him to drink, he always turns me down!" Motoyasu softly slammed the bar with his hand. "He's not someone that drinks. That's always what he says and he's never interested in what it even tastes like. Even last night when we had the opportunity to drink wine in celebration, the man just switched his wine for tea!"

"Y-You've only met him for a single day…" Myne mentioned, perplexed. "I don't think you would believe the Shield Hero's tendencies."

"What? Why wouldn't I? I've known him for three years!"

Myne looked stunned at Motoyasu's revelation.

"... You've known… the Shield Hero for _three years_?"

Motoyasu nodded. "Alongside the Sword Hero and the Bow Hero too! We were all roommates before we were summoned to Melromarc."

A smirk carefully lined up along her mouth.

"You were? _Please, tell me more._"

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 012 : Inclusion**

[Motoyasu] : "Take this! And that! And some of this too!"

[Rino] : "... Hey, shouldn't we be doing something here?"

[Elena] : "Hey, if Sir Motoyasu wants to do the work, then I say let him. I don't really mind if he's basically telling us to take it easy."

[Lesty] : "Elena has a point. Besides, it's pretty cute seeing him fight for our sakes like this. His spearmanship is still incredibly lacking though, but he's trying so hard that it's so adorable!"

[Motoyasu] : "Hyah! Hyah! And strike!"

[Rino] : "... This feels wrong. This feels so wrong on so many levels."

[Elena] : "Hey, Lesty? I brought some snacks if you want some. They were having a special and the value was pretty good for its worth."

[Lesty] : "Oh, I would love some!"

[Rino] : "Y-You're eating!? In the middle of the field while Sir Motoyasu is fighting!?"

[Lesty] : "Well, we're still getting experience points out of it, right?"

[Elena] : "Oh, right. Forgive my manners. Want one, Rino?"

[Rino] : "... _Yes_. Yes, I do want one. Thanks, Elena."

[Rino] : '_A bitter taste in my mouth, but the treats are deliciously sweet…_'

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 013 : Harem**

[Itsuki] : "Well, aren't you lucky to get a full party of females?"

[Motoyasu] : "... I guess on the surface level, it really is every man's best dream. It's quite the easy set up for a harem, especially when every single one of the girls are a beauty to look at. And their personalities are great to boot! My team's got them all! The cute and adorable one! The sexy and seductive one! The stern and elegant one!"

[Itsuki] : "Please go die if you're going to flaunt like that."

[Motoyasu] : "What? You were the one to bring it up."

[Itsuki] : "I didn't think you would go all out! Maybe a 'yeah, you're right, Itsuki' would have been fine!"

[Motoyasu] : "You're speaking like all harems are good harems though."

[Itsuki] : "Well, you said it yourself! It's every man's best dream—!"

[Motoyasu] : "On the surface. I'm trying to make sure that the moment isn't lost as simply 'a moment'."

[Itsuki] : "Huh? What do you mean by—!?"

[Itsuki] : "O-Oh… S-Sorry about that, Motoyasu. I… _didn't mean to_..."

[Motoyasu] : "No, it's fine, Itsuki. It may be in the past, but it's my reminder for the future."

[Motoyasu] : "... I won't let another incident like that ever happen again."

[Itsuki] : "... _You're a lot stronger than you look, Motoyasu. I sometimes envy that._"

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**


	8. Chapter 1-07 : Fabricated Reality

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

Knocking came at Naofumi's door. He was planning on sleeping in since he never actually got the chance to do that back in his world, but he supposed life had other plans for him.

He wondered what Myne could have wanted that warranted such heavy knocks against the door.

Though, he was still in his undergarments. Impatient or not, it was much better to be talking to Myne with his pants on rather than off. Actually, that applied to any case that he could reasonably think of in general.

However, the knocking kept coming. Myne had really seemed to want to enter, not even waiting for a response of any kind. Naofumi took the chance after the knocking subsided once again to relay his message.

"Just hold on a minute! I'll be right out there!"

Naofumi swept himself off the bed and stretched his arms back and forth.

When he looked over to the chair where he laid down his clothing and equipment, he found himself in shock. His clothes weren't there. His equipment had disappeared. Even the medallion was gone.

It wasn't as if he couldn't easily misplace them.

If it was just the medallion, he could understand if he placed it somewhere he didn't recall, but this was an _outfit _for crying out loud. You don't _misplace_ an outfit, especially in a room with as much limited space as the shared living quarters back home.

The knock kept persisting to be even harder than before.

He had this odd premonition that this might not be Myne that was knocking on his door. Either that, or Myne grew another hand and used all three to pound away at the wooden barrier. That sounded a bit weird, but it might have been the echoes that made it sound like there were more people banging on it.

'_Yeah, that must be it... What else could it be?_'

"I said I would be out in a minute. I'm…" Naofumi didn't know how to specifically word it to make it look like he wasn't going insane. "Uh… I just need a moment! I'll meet up with you in the lobby at most five minutes!"

'_Wait, why did I say that!? How the hell am I supposed to get to the lobby with no clothes!?_'

"Actually, never mind! I'm coming to the door right now, but I'm going to warn you! I only have my undergarments on!" Naofumi abandoned his restless search for his clothes and went to open the door. He tried to make a small gap, in the likely scenario that Myne wasn't trying to peek at him.

"Look, I have a good explanation for this, depending on how you define—"

—_good._

Naofumi widened his eyes to see that it wasn't Myne who had been knocking. It was a group of knights wearing the Melromarc uniform, just like the set he saw at the castle. If that wasn't enough to seal the deal, the one that had been in front of them was none other than Lothringen.

"May I come in, Sir Shield Hero?"

"U-Uhm…" Naofumi didn't know what to expect from this situation. Something must have happened if knights were here. "O-Of course. Could you give me some time to get my clothes on first? I just got out of my bed."

"I request that we enter first and foremost. You may get changed while we keep an eye on you."

His tongue moved before he could think, remembering that he really didn't have these clothes that he spoke of. He was embarrassed to admit, but there wasn't any reason to keep up the mindless charade.

Even so, Lothringen's words were an odd request, to say the very least. However, Naofumi didn't really think much about it. Perhaps what they wanted to tell Naofumi was more urgent than he expected, prompting them to waste no time.

"U-Uhm… Actually… it would be easier if you come on first."

Naofumi opened the door for Lothringen and his three knights to enter. Their captain started to inspect the room, making Naofumi antsy for some reason. It had been simply the room he rented out for the night, but the way that Lothringen had been surveying the surroundings was similar to how a cop would investigate a crime scene.

It was slightly mesmerizing to see a knight being so stern and serious, but Lothringen's call broke him out of his trance.

"Sir Shield Hero? Your clothes?"

"I didn't mean to lie about getting on my clothes, but… I can't find them anywhere." Naofumi scouted the room once again, in the hopes that he was simply blinded by the obvious hiding spot. "I woke up to find all my unequipped armour and clothing to be gone. I don't know what happened."

"I see. That's quite the terrible shame, Sir Shield Hero."

"I don't want to be a nuisance though, asking for more armour from the king with everything he's done for me and the others already. I'll see if I can bring up together a passable armour set with the money."

Thankfully, if this had been laid into their own realities, he would have pocketed the money into his clothing. The intangible inventory was surely a saving grace in this turn of events.

Naofumi walked over to his bed, taking a seat. The other knights had been positioning themselves along the perimeter—specifically, the window, the opposite wall and the door.

"Anyways, what's going on? You probably didn't come see me to check up how I'm doing, right?"

"That's correct, Sir Shield Hero."

Lothringen pulled out a scroll and unveiled it in front of Naofumi's face. He couldn't exactly read the words—it seemed all gibberish to him, but Naofumi did recognize that there was an important stamp on the paper.

If anything, it kinda looked like a warrant that police officers would get from the high court to legally search through people's properties.

"Naofumi Iwatani," Lothringen declared. "You are hereby under arrest as a suspect of sexual assault. Please do not make this difficult and come with me to the castle."

Naofumi froze in his place, trying to process what Lothringen had just said.

"... _What_?"

* * *

**)**—**(\**IV**| Chapter 1-07 |**IV**/)|**—**(  
)\\( Fabricated Reality )/(**

* * *

"I'm telling you that the item enhancement and ore equip is part of our levelling system for these weapons. You can't make this up, it's in the help menus!"

"Seriously?"

"I don't have a single reason to lie to you, Ren."

Ren frowned as he walked with Itsuki in the daybreak's light. The town had already been busy preparing for the morning rush, similar to how the various school days were back at home.

He opened up his menu and quickly accessed his weapons menu. He collected quite a bit after discovering that he could absorb materials into his weapon, giving him even more weapons to access, but that wasn;t the focus here.

Ren scanned through his weapons, selecting a random one.

Never had he even seen in the help menus about any other strengthening methods and he investigated these menus rather thoroughly. However, the one Itsuki was describing sounded like it came from _Dimension Wave_.

Unlike the mastery system that _Brave Star Online_ used, there were a collective of systems used for powering up weapons in _Dimension Wave_ and since Ren had already played enough to learn them, he recalled it in his memory.

The first had been item enchantment. Any items or dropped monster materials can be converted into energy within a similar free-forming pool to the mastery system. Ren could take this energy and apply it to a weapon to enhance its power to gain new skills, but there was only a chance of success. If it failed at any time, it would drop back to its unenchanted form.

The second had been the job levels. Instead of using the energy to enhance the weapons. It is possible to enchant Ren's own stats, giving a permanent flat increase across all weapons.

The third had been the ore equipment. Any ore that Ren would come across can be equipped into a weapon for bonus effects and stats, if applicable. There were a limited amount of slots to keep in mind.

There was also _Dimension Wave_'s own rarity system, where it was simply that a higher rarity meant a stronger weapon and nothing else, unlike _Brave Star Online_ where a 'Common' weapon could be taken to the highest rarity.

As the weapon menu popped up, Ren widened his eyes.

None of what Itsuki said was there before.

'_... Huh. Well, I'll be damned._'

**[Magic Steel Sword] 0/25 UC  
(Equip Bonus) : Attack 1, Magic 1  
(E****quip Bonus Skill****) : Rapid Thrust  
(Mastery Level) : 65  
(Item Enhancement) : LV0**

**[Ren Amaki]  
Class : Sword Hero LV5**

**[Job Levels]  
Attack LV1 0/5  
Magic LV1 0/5  
(…)**

Ren still had some energy in the free-forming pool, so he decided to throw some in to check. He didn't have any ores yet, so that was all he could validate.

He was pleasantly surprised to see that it worked as intended.

**[Magic Steel Sword] 0/25 UC  
(Equip Bonus) : Attack 1, Magic 1  
(****E****quip Bonus Skill****) : Rapid Storm  
(Mastery Level) : 65  
(Item Enhancement) : LV2, Magic Defense Piercing (low) **

**[Ren Amaki]  
Class : Sword Hero LV5**

**[Job Levels]  
Attack LV2 0/11, Attack +1  
Magic LV1 0/5  
(…)**

"Whoa, the _Brave Star Online_ strengthening system works here too!" Itsuki exclaimed, checking his own weapons. "It even uses the same energy pool!"

Ren couldn't fathom it. If enhancement types for weapons were hidden away until it was randomly discovered, he couldn't think just how many different types of systems existed for them to use. He believed that Motoyasu and Naofumi might have their own strengthening methods to them.

"Hey, Itsuki. We should probably find Naofumi and Motoyasu and tell them about this. Using these methods are going to be important if we're going to get any stronger, and we should see if they have any strengthening methods for us too."

"Well, that's assuming that they haven't left for their daily grind yet," Itsuki commented. "We might be able to find Motoyasu over at the guild, judging what he was trying to do last night. Naofumi, on the other hand…"

"Yeah, I got no clue as to where Naofumi is right now."

"I mean, he _is_ a university student," Itsuki pondered. "And as far as I know, university students value their sleep whenever they can get it. Maybe he's still lying in bed at this point?"

"Has Naofumi even slept in before?"

"... Not that I know of."

As they were bantering, it seemed like there was a big crowd that had been blocking their way. Chattering among the citizens and adventurers had been at large.

Itsuki was instinctively pulled in out of curiosity, but Ren wanted to stay away from the crowd. He could see enough from the back, but he supposed Itsuki loved front-row seats.

However, Ren noticed that there was a knight handling the horse upon the carriage in front of an inn.

'_What's going on here? An arrest?_'

Unlike Ren who thought the question, Itsuki went to ask it.

"H-Hey, excuse me? What's going on here?"

One of the spectators turned his head. "Oh, one of the captains of the knights is making a personal arrest. It's a rare sight, that's for sure. They say that the culprit was accused of sexual assault."

"Sexual assault?" Itsuki frowned.

"That's a serious crime, alright," Ren mumbled, walking next to Itsuki. "I guess every world is the same when it comes to crimes."

"What type of scum would try and do something like that? They would have to be the lowest of the low. I'm glad that this city is doing what it's supposed to be doing and protecting its citizens."

"If the knights weren't, then I think there would be a bigger problem than the waves of destruction we'd have to worry about."

"I still can't imagine what type of criminal would do such a thing. I'm friends with someone who enjoys his time with women, and even he wouldn't stoop that low. Sexual assault? _Really_?" Itsuki's voice was disgusted with the idea. "I can't believe there would be people out there like—"

"—_Naofumi_?"

"Yeah, like Nao—!" Itsuki frowned. "Wait, no! God, what is with you guys and filling my mouth with the wrong names!?"

"That's not what I meant to do."

Ren pointed his arm at the inn's entrance.

"Just look for yourself."

Ren had been watching the front door of the inn, seeing the entire event transpire before his eyes. Despite the obscured view, he was able to position himself with a good angle. He saw Lothringen exit the inn and walk towards the carriage. Following him was the knights—

—and Naofumi, guided like a prisoner.

"That's… _Naofumi_. _He's _the one being arrested."

Itsuki's eyes widened. "W-What? Ren, get your eyes checked! There's no way it's Naofumi!"

"Well, it's playing out right in front of me. I'm just saying what I see here."

"That can't be right! There has to be a mistake!"

"If you don't believe me, there's only one way to confirm it for yourself." Ren focused onto the scene. "Let's find out what's going on, but we shouldn't make much of a commotion."

"R-Right! People, stand aside! I'm the Bow Hero!" he shouted, garnering people's attention. He started to push through the crowd who had been listening to his demands. "Let me through! That's the Shield Hero they have in cuffs! There has to be some type of mistake here!"

'_T-That's not what I had in mind, Itsuki..._'

'_Exactly what part of not 'making a commotion' did you not understand?_'

Ren sighed, holding his head down and carefully following Itsuki as he parted the people like he was the one pushing the Red Sea. No one was noticing his own advancements, so his identity was still quiet.

Eventually, they came to Lothringen's presence. The man stopped, glancing over towards the two heroes. Chills ran down Ren's spine as Lothringen observed their interruptions, but he decided to stay quiet and let Itsuki do the talking. He already drew attention to himself after all.

"Lothringen! You clearly made a mistake here!" Itsuki pleaded. "Don't you remember!? Naofumi Iwatani is the Shield Hero! You know, one of the four Cardinal Heroes here!?"

Murmuring started to emerge from the crowd. It seemed like they thought Naofumi was just another ordinary criminal.

"As I do remember from our meeting. I was in the presence of the summoning ritual, if _you_ remember."

"Then you should know what you're doing, right!?"

"I do. I am arresting a suspect in a sexual assault case given to me."

"What!?" Itsuki was taken back from the calm response. "There's no way that Naofumi would do such a thing!"

Lothringen scoffed. "That is not my decision to make. It is my decision to investigate, however."

"Then investigate, dammit! You'll quickly see that Naofumi is innocent!"

"H-Hey, Itsuki." Naofumi rose both of his hands up as if he was trying to object to the argument. He managed to drag Itsuki's attention away from the issue, softly smiling in his typical optimism. "I'm going to be fine here, but I appreciate the concern."

"I know you, Naofumi. You wouldn't do anything like this!"

"I know, I know. Though, the way Lothringen explained it to me earlier made it seem pretty clear why he's doing this from his perspective. If I'm a suspect, I'll need to be contained while the investigation is ongoing, in case if I made any attempts to flee. Since I'm a Cardinal Hero, Lothringen wanted to take up the investigation and finish it up as quickly as possible to reach a proper verdict."

Naofumi made an aloof shrug. "Sounds reasonable, right?"

Itsuki was shocked at how easy-going Naofumi had been despite the situation.

"If I determine the Shield Hero to be guilty and the king is convinced, then the proper punishment will be made by our wise king. If the king says otherwise or I find the Shield Hero to be innocent, then his time of imprisonment will be reprimanded and he will be presented with a formal apology."

"Who the hell would even call him out for this stupid crime?"

"Their identities will be kept confidential for privacy reasons. I suggest you move on with your day, instead of wasting your time here."

"Wasting my time!?" Itsuki felt heated from that accusation. "It feels like _you're_ the one wasting your own time for a suspect that wouldn't do anything like the crime he's being convicted for!"

"For his sake, I sincerely hope so." Lothringen beckoned the knights to advance. "Come, we shouldn't stay for any longer. Unless the Bow Hero has anything else that he wished to say."

Itsuki clearly hated this; Ren noted it from the clenched fist and frustrated expression. It wasn't as if Ren was excluded from the feeling, but he was more angered at another different reason.

'_Naofumi… Why the hell do you feel the need to always act like that…?_'

As Itsuki and Ren watched as Naofumi made his way into the carriage, their friend looked back with his usual, gentle smile. It almost pissed Ren off to how carefree it was, acting like he wasn't even in cuffs.

"Don't worry about me, alright? I'm sure things will work out eventually for me. You guys just work on getting stronger, and I'll catch up soon."

"N-Naofumi…"

Even so, Ren remained quiet.

"The investigation shouldn't take too long, I hope," Lothringen continued as the knights guided Naofumi into the carriage.

"How long do you need?"

"Most likely, two days, and at the earliest? A single day. A proper trial to display the evidence will be occurring as soon as possible and I invite all the other Cardinal Heroes to be present, if they so desire."

"You better believe I'll be there to help defend Naofumi! We'll all be there!" Itsuki exclaimed. "How can I call myself a hero if I can't help my friend!?"

"I'll tell you this, Bow Hero," Lothringen replied as he stepped on the carriage. "You shouldn't be putting blind faith in those you've only met less than two days ago. There is a fine line between friend and comrade."

Itsuki curiosity was pulled at his words, but Lothringen had already closed the door and the carriage was already moving on. The metal clicked and clacked as the horses pulled the carriage away.

"Blind faith?" Itsuki was confused. "What did he mean by that?"

The crowd started to disperse as Ren approached his friend.

"Remember what the prophecy said?" Ren immediately knew what assumptions they were using. "Four heroes from four _different _worlds would come to be called to be the Cardinal Heroes. Looks like some divine being for the ritual didn't get the memo."

"... Naofumi's still going to be imprisoned, isn't he?" Itsuki turned to Ren. "We have to do something about it!"

"Let the man do his job, Itsuki. And we'll start to do ours for the day. It's not as if we can do anything else in this situation."

"Are you just giving up!? That's not the Ren I know!"

"I'm being _reasonable_."

Itsuki's sight lurked to the ground. "...I guess _that's _the Ren I know."

"Save any talking for the trial day. For now, we should focus on getting stronger as per usual."

Ren started to walk away from his friend.

"I'm heading out now to grind some levels and materials," Ren said. He turned over his head. "If you see Motoyasu, tell him about the situation and tell him about the strengthening methods."

"Y-Yeah… Of course…"

He knew Itsuki was feeling bittersweet about the situation, but screaming and hollering that their knowledge was right wasn't the way to go. Even if they said that they knew each other before the summoning, that may not be enough.

However, Ren didn't like this feeling.

'_Something was going on in the background_.'

There was no reason for a Cardinal Hero to be suddenly accused of sexual assault on the second morning of their arrival. Even if they hadn't known Naofumi, it simply sounded wrong and outlandish.

Naofumi may have been optimistic, but the situation no longer seemed as simple as it appeared.

Especially with what Aldrecht mentioned about the Shield Hero's reputation back in the throne room.

He didn't exactly lie to Itsuki. He only explained where he was heading to, but that didn't mean he couldn't make any stops along the way.

'_Omitting the Shield Hero, huh? I guess I should check out the Church of Three Heroes…_"

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

The dungeons were quite dark, only being illuminated by torches. The stone tiles were cold, even through his shoes, and the air tasted damp, tricking his mind into a sluggish feeling. Both sides of the corridor were either more stone bricks or a prison cell, lined with iron bars.

Some of the people inside of the cells look rather dangerous, but there were some people that Naofumi couldn't fathom a reason as to why they were in there. However, he noticed that there were some people that didn't look normal; they had animal parts along their heads or body or in some of their cases, they entirely looked like amphomorphic animals.

It wasn't as if Naofumi was clueless to what they could be.

This was a fantasy world of swords, magic, and a level system.

In the majority of his novels which used similar settings, the terms that the literature would give them had been '_demi-humans_'. Though, it wasn't as if the knights leading him would answer his questions about them. They were silent, other than the deal of giving Naofumi instructions to follow.

Lothringen had left the two knights to bring him to his cell, so that he could begin the investigation as soon as possible. Despite the word count of the conversation being the same, Naofumi couldn't help but to think that they didn't like him.

He tried not to think about that possibility though and believed that they were more like Lothringen, knights that took their jobs seriously.

After walking past the cells and heading down deeper into the dungeons, one of the knights had stopped and opened up an empty cell. Naofumi glanced inside, seeing a stone bed dressed in hay, but that was pretty much it. He gulped, even though he expected beforehand that it wasn't going to be anything like the guest room.

"This is your cell, _Shield Hero_."

The tone was made as if the knight was mocking him.

"A-Alright…"

He was starting to walk in, but the second knight kicked his back, pushing him onto the cold floor of his cell. He groaned in pain and looked back, seeing that the two knights had been laughing in his agony.

'_T-That wasn't… nice…!_'

Naofumi, still with chained hands, went over to the bed to try and get comfortable. He needed to do so to survive the next twenty-four hours minimum.

Though, if he was going to be laying about and doing nothing, he probably should try and read the help menus. That way, he wouldn't get entirely bored out of his mind.

He glanced at his shield, set back to the default form, and tried accessing the menus.

**[Attention]  
[Unable to Access Due To Outside Interference.]**

"... And there goes my plans. _Great_."

It looked like the chains that they had on Naofumi locked him out of his 'Status Magic' menus and since the help menu that was relating to his shield needed that 'Status Magic' to access, it left him with nothing to do.

Maybe he could sleep the hours away. As a university student, that sounded heavenly.

"_Excuse me?_"

A feminine voice came from across the corridor, but Naofumi had to look around a few times until he found where the source was coming from. He widened his eyes at the unexpected neighbour.

"Are you… really the Shield Hero?"

Through the empty shadows, Naofumi managed to pick out a woman with strawberry-blonde hair. Her clothes had been tattered, but they seemed to be rags in the first place. However, there was still the aroma of pride left in the atmosphere around her as she stood against the bars, holding her hands around them.

Naofumi moved off the bed and walked up to the bars.

"Yeah, I am." Naofumi raised his arms, showing his shield clearly for her to see. "If being stuck with a shield doesn't make you one, then I don't know what else I'd be."

Her face stiffened in the darkness.

"If you're the Shield Hero, then what of the summoning ritual?"

"The summoning ritual? Well, all of the heroes were summoned. Shield, spear, bow, sword."

Her body shook, looking like she wanted thousands of answers from Naofumi's lips. There were little bridges between the question as it went back and forth between what his head thought of next. There were some questions that he had no clue about, but it was clear she was grabbing every question without a filter.

"And why are _you _here of all places?" Her voice sounded horrified by the climax. "Did you… commit a crime?"

"Not that I know of," Naofumi shook his head. "Lothringen arrested me since I was a potential culprit for a crime, and well, there wasn't much I could argue about that. He was simply doing his job and since I know I'm innocent, I'm probably going to leave safe and sound."

"How could you say that yet still smile?"

The woman's words caused him to catch his own expression.

"Well, I mean… There's no point in being all grumpy. Really, all I can do is hope for the best." Naofumi tried his best to retain his optimism, pondering at his reason. "I hope that Lothringen finds out that I'm really innocent and lets me go back to doing what I should be doing. He's investigating right now for my trial."

"So you don't think you could be framed for that crime?"

Naofumi was surprised. "F-Framed? Why would I be framed?"

"I wish I had an answer for that." The woman sorrowfully glanced away, speaking softly. "I wish I had answers for everything that's going right now. It's like the entire world suddenly didn't make sense to me. Everything flipped upside down."

Naofumi glanced at her eyes once again.

Her eyes were blue, slightly brighter than Ren's colour, but he saw some sort of mixture of hope and despair within it. Bitterness and confusion were stirred into the pot, but there was still the sign of resolution there, even though her voice didn't seem like she had any.

She must have realized that she lost herself to her bewilderment and sighed, trying to recompose herself.

"... I apologize, Sir Shield Hero. Ever since I was thrown into the dungeons two weeks ago, all I was left with were my thoughts." Her head leaned forwards. "I-I still can't believe His Majesty would collaborate with the Church of Three Heroes to summon all four Cardinal Heroes. I'd thought His Majesty would be more insightful than that, especially with Lord Aldrecht by his side."

"O-Oh…"

Naofumi really didn't know how to deal with situations like these. He'd only remember dealing with a person somewhat similar to her, but that was his brother and the answer was rather clear from the start to him. For a stranger that was on the border of hope and despair, he had no clue; he wished Motoyasu had been here to help him out since she was a girl.

He'd know how to help her out.

"W-Wait, 'His Majesty'? You mean, the king?"

Naofumi tried to recall the moment he didn't have any party members. Aldrecht had said something about the Church of Three Heroes and how they might have influenced the odd outcome of his nonexistent party.

"The king that hates the existence of the Shield Hero… and the religion that casts the Shield Hero as a Demon…"

'_H-Huh!? D-Demon!?_'

However, this woman's words implied a new light, but Naofumi didn't want to assume it by himself.

"Don't get me wrong here, but from the way you're talking about this, it sounds like you meant to say that this Church is working with the king!"

"I wouldn't be surprised. I'm only here because of the first princess." Naofumi's spine shuddered to realize that this person might have been wrongly arrested too. "For what crime, you may ask? The crime of knowing too much and the crime of being too noble, apparently."

Naofumi froze in his place.

Was there something else going on that he wasn't allowed to see?

But there was just too much being revealed by her! Naofumi wanted to believe her words, but the situation really doesn't call for it.

"Let's just… slow down for a minute here." Naofumi raised his shackled hands to stop the woman from talking. "We should really start from the beginning again. I feel like I just got tossed in here. _Well, I _did _get tossed in here just now by the knights_."

Naofumi chuckled, but didn't realize it until the woman pointed it out.

"You're smiling again? Even in these dire moments?"

"O-Oh, well…" Catching himself in the act, Naofumi nervously scratched his head. "I mean, being angry isn't going to break me out of any of this, so might as well stay hopeful for the future. Right?"

"_What an incredible person…_"

"Anyways, I said we should start from the beginning, right?"

Naofumi pointed to himself, as best as he could.

"My name is Naofumi Iwatani. I'm the Shield Hero. It's nice to meet you."

The woman was silent in shock for a few seconds, seeing that Naofumi had still been upbeat. She started smiling herself, as if his attitude was contagious.

"I see. My name is Eclair Seaetto. I was formerly the royal knight for the second princess. Even though I'd like the circumstances to be different, it's my pleasure to meet you, Sir Naofumi."

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

Ren flipped through the books to discover one conclusion.

'_I literally can't read this. I can't read any of this._'

Ren managed to slip through into the Church of three Heroes without drawing any suspicion and managed to discover that there was a massive library of content underneath the main cathedral. In a way, it was like an underground bunker. The shelves were placed to be circling the center statues. There was an upper floor that would be easily accessed that felt like a skywalk with hanging bridges coming from one side to the opposite.

A few tables and seats were scattered around for readers to sit down and enjoy their litterature, but Ren assumed that the people who dove their noses into these books actually knew what they were reading.

Literally all of this looked like gibberish.

'_Was everyone not speaking in Japanese? How the hell is the writing not at least in hiragana?_'

He flipped through the pages with no fruit being bore.

"Are you finding everything okay?"

Ren glanced over to his side, glaring at the passing nun who was holding a stack of books. He didn't say anything, but the nun seemed to have spooked herself as she instinctively backed away and tripped over her own foot.

Ren sighed, placing back the book as he turned to the violet-haired nun.

"... Are you okay?"

"E-Eek! Don't hurt me!" The nun raised a book in her self-defense. "I don't taste good!"

Ren left his expression blanked as he sighed.

"Look, no one is eating anyone here. I was just asking if you were alright."

Ren was thankful that his words were able to break through to the nun as she slowly lowered the book and looked over it. "Y-You won't? S-Sorry, you glared at me so angrily that I thought you were going to kill me inside of the church…"

"Then I guess it's my bad," he reluctantly apologized. He didn't exactly feel like he was in the wrong, but if it ended the interaction quicker than asking about his expression, so be it.

He held his hand outwards for the nun to hold onto, while pulling her back onto her feet. There were still books scattered around the place. Considering that his search for anything relating to extremism and the Church of Three Heroes was a bust, on the account that he couldn't read, it wasn't as if this little chore would bother his time.

He bent down and started to pick up the books silently as the nun glanced at him, wondering what he was doing. She only realized once Ren passed a book over to her.

"What are you staring at? Take the book before I change my mind."

The nun chuckled with a cute smile as she placed the book back into her arms. "You really aren't truthful to yourself, are you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ren responded, holding another book to the nun.

"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll figure it out soon. The light will always find a way into our hearts and as long as we never stop believing in the might and teachings of the Cardinal Heroes, there will always be your answer, waiting for you." The nun went on preaching, as she accepted the books Ren collected.

"Is that so?" Ren asked, acting like he was interested. "It must be great for the light of the Cardinal Heroes to always be with me."

"It's such a blessing we have, right? Remember, you must always keep vigilant like how the Shield Hero teaches us!"

"... The Shield Hero?"

Ren glanced up at the nun, noticing what she just said. He thought he had entered into a building for the Church of Three Heroes and she even had that emblem on the skirt. However, it surprised Ren that the apparent Shield Hero that was omitted was still being talked about.

'_Did Aldrecht lie to us?_'

However, Ren wasn't sure to make that assumption. After all, it definitely opposed what the organization looked like on the cover; they had the symbols for the sword, bow, and spear without any inclusion of the shield. None of the statues above even had a shield to them, so he remained skeptical of both sides.

"Yep! If you don't be vigilant, you'll never find your answers! He may have been quite the demon, but there are things you can still learn from him."

She said it so happily and her mood wasn't entirely dampened by the mention of the Shield Hero, but when he gave her a moment, the nun seemingly jolted and covered her mouth. She ended up broadening the entire speech to be more general.

"O-One day, with prayers for the holy heroes, you'll see that the answer you search for will fall right into your hands."

He wanted to ask about the relation to the Shield Hero in detail, but her bubbly personality is off putting for him. Ren instinctively scoffed.

Giving prayers to divine beings by itself for something sounded ludicrous to Ren and it was one of the reasons why he wasn't religious. He believed if something was going to be given, it must be earned by one's own volition. He disliked those who wished their way through life.

"Fall into my hands, huh? I highly doubt—"

Ren froze and widened his eyes when he held one of the certain books that was dropped.

Ren must have picked up countless books in a fruitless search, but when he laid his hands on this one and realized what he was holding, his body started to shake. The familiar uneasy feeling returned to his body, but at the same time, he felt like laughing. It wasn't anything that got him closer to his original goal of coming here, but it was an interesting discovery nevertheless.

"What's wrong?"

"... _This book_." Ren glanced up to the nun. "_What_ is this book?"

"It's just something that someone else wanted to read. I mentioned it to him the other day and he said he wanted to check it out whenever he had the chance." The nun blushed, thinking about this 'apparent' person.

"... Do you mind if I look at it for a moment?"

"U-Uhm… T-This isn't really one of the public copies..." The nun looked nervous about letting Ren read it, but she gritted her teeth and held her hand onto the book. "I-I'm sorry, sir! I can't just let _anyone_ read this! And besides, no one knows the language that this text was written in! I'm only providing because I promised the man that he could see it!"

She made a light tug on the book, wincing as she did.

If he came out here as the Sword Hero, it would have been easier to convince her to let him observe it. However, he didn't want word to be spreading that he was investigating the Church and considering her personality, she felt like a scatterbrain who would let vital information like that be blurted out all of a sudden.

"Whatever. It's not like I don't understand, so take your damn book already."

"T-Thank you, sir! Y-You know, you don't seem like that bad of a person."

Sighing, Ren let go of the book as it returned to the girl. Alternatively, he could threaten her about taking out a book not meant for the public's eyes, but even he didn't know the consequences of that or what rules and regulations were in place. Perhaps she could simply lie and say that she was bringing it for a high ranking Church member or something along those lines, and he would have stirred up trouble and brought attention to himself for nothing.

This was probably the safest thing he could do, but his curiosity was steadily growing.

As the girl accepted it and thanked him once again before running off, he made sure to remember that book, but it wasn't exactly that difficult to keep inside his head.

He knew that book.

He knew that familiar bad feeling he received when he saw it for the first time.

He knew that weighted book among its countless pages and metal-plated cover, marked with intricate patterns; it was one that held a mysterious atmosphere around it like it was found in an attic with no recollection of putting it there.

And even if she claimed that it was in an unreadable language, Ren could still decipher it. This wasn't to say that the nun had lied before him intentionally, but Ren could read the cover easily.

It was written in _kanji _after all.

The title of that book was—

—'_The Record of the Four Holy Weapons_'_._

The memory of the mysterious white-haired girl he heard only by ear flashed before his eyes.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

Aldrecht was looking at his research and paperwork within the altar room, tending to the mysterious result of the summoning ritual. Papers were stacked on the ground as lower-end catalysts were placed for experimental purposes.

So far, he was able to gather the fact that there were still three distinct energies of some kind left stuck in the ritual and an empty slot that remained for a fourth. However, what this might be remained unknown, so he was still figuring things out.

He had to admit that it was rather difficult to figure out possible flaws hidden away in an ancient ritual that half-heartedly recreated for the sake of his friend. He would have wished there were more scholars working on the procedure to be able to understand it, but they all took the summoning for granted and never looked back.

That attitude was what was making Aldrecht's life harder. If anything, he was probably the first researcher in centuries to ever try and decipher the mysteries of the Cardinal Heroes' summoning ritual.

The dark lightning was hard on his old eyes, but the amassed candles weren't a terrible substitute.

However, no matter what he tried to look for, it didn't look as if anything was sticking out as the obvious clue. His mind was still on the incident from yesterday and what was the entire cause of the wrong applications being sent out.

Since the adventurers' applications were sent to the guild, Aldrecht had to personally recollect those applications to see if there were any differences. They were royalty-family approved documents, so he had to be granted access by the guildmaster to see them again, but once he got his hands on them, he realized that these were not the same people that he originally accepted.

Some of them matched; others did not. Those who did not were believers of the Church of Three Heroes.

The first thing that crossed his mind was the servant that was requested to bring the applications over to Aultcray, but he cursed himself for not paying attention to who it was. He couldn't bother asking his old friend because all he really focused on in his life were those on Melromarc's council and his family.

Aultcray would have given him the same answer.

It would have been easy for him to simply go and replace those party members, but he had to think about what the Cardinal Heroes would think. If he did such a thing for the reason that they followed a certain religion, there was the chance that they would become skeptical of Melromarc. If he lied and said that they were wrongly approved, then the possibility of backfire still existed.

He knew the names of the Cardinal Heroes, yet he didn't _know_ the Cardinal Heroes to be able to orient moves surrounding them on the chess field. He almost went sleepless last night because of the dilemma, trying to think what he should do and how it should be executed.

In the midst of his distracted research, the altar room door suddenly kicked open.

The first realization happened, he popped out of his thoughts and remembered that Aultcray had banned any knight or servant from entering these premises, but then the second realization came as to how the doors opened.

"What do you want, Zellus? I'm in the middle of something important."

Zellus walked forward into the altar room. "Oh? So the heroes were summoned in a dreary place like this? Their initial impressions must have been _terrible_."

"If you're here to sightsee, you may leave."

"Oh, c'mon! Don't you want to know what happened to the knights that were supposed to be guarding this area!?"

Aldrecht's imagination flashed to two unconscious knights on the ground. Zellus was never a stranger to knocking out his own allies if they stood in his way, especially if they were regular knights.

"You can spare me the story. I can fill in the blanks for myself." His head turned around. "I will ask one more time. What do you want?"

"Well, I brought important information I heard about the castle which holds some serious implications."

"And what would that be?"

Zellus' smirk dropped.

"The Church of Three Heroes have started to make their move."

Zellus watched as Aldrecht's wrinkles got tighter. He feared what Zellus was going to say, but even if he asked the question, Aldrecht probably had a general idea of what the result was. Even so, he still asked.

"_What did they do?_"

"They got the Shield Hero. Looks like he's been arrested for sexual assault."

Aldrecht clicked his tongue. With the princess switching to the Shield Hero's party, the odd mixup of applications, and the summoning ritual's fault—all of which he needed to attend to, he really didn't need one more thing to be served on the plate.

_Especially in quick succession_.

"I think it's time for our counterattack, Aldrecht."

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 015 : Code of Conduct**

[Naofumi] : "Hey, Eclair? Since you're a royal knight, could you answer me something?"

[Eclair] : "What is it, Sir Naofumi?"

[Naofumi] : "Are knights supposed to kick prisoners into their cells? It kinda hurt when I fell down, but not physically… You know, because of my role as the Shield Hero."

[Eclair] : "It's not the code of conduct that we're expected to hold as knights underneath Melromarc's banner. Usually a simple push would be sufficient if the prisoner is non-compliant. Though, it would be much easier to knock out the prisoner first and foremost before we sent them to the cell. As a royal knight for the second princess, barely do I ever do any arresting. Anyone who tries and hurt the second princess usually winds up dead."

[Eclair] : "S-Sir Naofumi? Why are you moving away?"

[Naofumi] : "I won't lie. The code of conduct among the Melromarcian Knights scare me."

[Eclair] : "Huh?"

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 016 : Odd Feeling**

[Ren] : "So this is the Church of Three Heroes, huh? It looked a lot smaller from the outside…"

[Ren] : "And in front of me would be the main cathedral, would it now? It has pews and everything, just like those Catholic congregations. Candles to the representations to their being of worship and there's even an altar up at the front. If this doesn't scream influence from a Roman Catholic church, I don't know what would be."

[Ren] : "It's getting pretty close to copyright infringement. The Roman Catholics should probably do something about—"

[Ren] : "..."

[Ren] : "..."

[Ren] : "W-What is this feeling…? When I look up past the altar at those statues with the stone holy weapons, why do I get this _odd _feeling? It's like my soul is trying to leave my body or something…"

[Ren] : "_No, it's probably nothing_. I have to continue my investigation into the Church of Three Heroes anyways, so that I have my own bearings on the situation. Now, I overheard that there was a library somewhere here. Where the hell is it?"

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**


	9. Chapter 1-08 : Catalyst and Tribulations

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

Lothringen had sent his soldiers to alert Ren and Itsuki about the time of the trial, that is—it was to take place during this morning. It was implied that Motoyasu had been informed as well, but considering how they didn't find out where he was up to the last two days due to bad luck, it was hard to say if Motoyasu even knew about the accusation on Naofumi in the first place, much less tell him about the new enhancement methods they discovered.

Ren had sent his party members ahead and as did Itsuki. They were planning on trying to find Motoyasu before the trial started to update him on what was happening, because if they knew Motoyasu, he would have been so confused as to how this event transpired.

They simply wanted to have a private discussion with Motoyasu to make sure he was in the right mindset.

Itsuki was indeed worried for Naofumi, but the topic that Ren brought up had been nudging at his mind, as they walked down the streets of the capital.

"You found the book that Motoyasu was gifted?"

"Yeah," Ren nodded. "Unfortunately, I couldn't find out what was inside, but if we can get our hands on that book, maybe we'll get one step closer to figuring out what the hell is going on here."

"And she said she reserved it for someone?"

"There was the original copy that I was interested in, but she also was planning on grabbing the publication version. I looked into that one instead in the library, but it just looked like a bunch of fairy tales and short stories for kids, promoting the Cardinal Heroes and such. I can't be sure; I couldn't read for shit, so I was depending on the pictures."

"So did you find anything about the Church? You said you went and investigated them."

"Aside from that little sidequest, nothing solid. I even spoke with some of the nuns and it didn't look like they had any major grudges against the Shield Hero. Nothing _for_ the Shield Hero though, except for one exception. Though, I noticed that she quickly shifted gears. That's still enough to cast doubt on whether they could have had an influence on this situation."

"You really did a lot of thinking about this." Itsuki sighed out of his defeat. "All I was doing was farming levels and completing enough guild requests to be ranked up. Way to put me to shame and go on to hog the glory."

"That wasn't my intention, Itsuki." Ren glanced at Itsuki with a stern expression. "You know how I like to approach things if I can."

"Yeah, yeah." Itsuki scratched his head. "I know, you like to do things by yourself to minimize the amount of people that screw up."

Ren nodded to Itsuki's analysis, but he realized that his perception friend worded it in a specific manner. He flinched and glanced over to Ren again.

"Wait, Ren? You mentioned that the Church _could_ have an influence on the situation. Is there another answer that you were thinking about."

Ren nodded.

"There's the possibility from the sample size of the nuns that the ones that showed displeasure for the Shield Hero might be outliers. If that was the case, then it would look like Aldrecht was trying to push blame onto another organization for what happened in the throne room."

Itsuki's memory flashed back to the throne room where the friends found out how the parties were distributed. He remembered that Ren, Motoyasu, and himself made comments about it before Aldrecht had to pull backwards.

"The way that Aldrecht was acting when we pointed out the uneven distribution was weird, wasn't it?" Itsuki rubbed his chin. "And the moment he came back to us, that's when he started to blame the Church of Three Heroes. Even when Myne transferred over to Naofumi's party, he started acting even weirder, almost like he wasn't anticipating her to join up with Naofumi."

"Yeah, the selection process was really questionable."

Ren remembered his original disbelief of the reasoning. The kingdom was dealing with the Cardinal Heroes, people that were to save their world. It made no sense to let the adventurers choose for themselves the day of meeting the heroes. If anything, they should have made balance a priority to ensure that each hero was able to have the same amount of resources.

"I think the selection process was bullshit and unjust!"

"Aldrecht is probably trying to hide something from us and considering how he's the king's retainer, I'd like to be able to blend them together as one unit." Ren tried to recall any instances where the king was suspicious too, but he simply couldn't find any. "For now, let's just treat them separately and say Aldrecht is working on his own agenda until we have proof of collaboration."

"Agenda?" Itsuki looked surprised. "What are you trying to say?"

"I don't think the situation is going to be black and white here. I can't exactly confirm it, but I don't doubt the fact that there might be a conspiracy against Naofumi, or rather, the Shield Hero figure specifically." Ren closed his eyes in contempt. "For what reason, I can't say for sure. I still need to make further investigations into the case, but I can say for sure that both the Church and Aldrecht are on the table as the true culprits."

Itsuki stopped in his place, causing Ren to stop a few steps away. There was a soft smirk on his expression as Ren tilted his head in confusion.

"What's so funny?"

"You're really acting like some detective, Ren," Itsuki answered. "You really care about Naofumi, don't you?"

"I think you're mistaken, Itsuki."

Itsuki's smile slowly turned into a sigh, like he was expecting that answer. "As I thought. You're not doing this for Naofumi. You're doing this for your self-satisfaction of covering for Naofumi."

Ren shook his head, much to Itsuki's surprise.

"Actually, both answers are correct in a way."

Ren's memory returned to when Naofumi was being arrested and the emotions he felt during that scene. He wasn't feeling confused nor was he feeling anxious for his friend. He was rather angry, but not at the person who accused him, nor was he angry at Lothringen.

If anything, he was angry at Naofumi, for going off, thinking everything was going to end up alright with that smile of his. He wanted to cover for Naofumi _to show him_ that things like these aren't falling into their hands.

Ren shook his head again. "For now, that topic isn't important. What does matter is that we see what happens at the trial and make our moves depending on what happens."

Itsuki nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Itsuki himself was anxious to hear what would result in Naofumi's fate. He didn't want his friend to be wrongly convicted; he doesn't believe that there was any friend that would wish that. However, it sounded like they had the odds stacked against them from what Ren was implying, but nevertheless, they should at least show up to give Naofumi their support.

As Itsuki came back to his senses, there was a single footstep that sounded very clear in the distance alongside a familiar chime of a ringing bell. Itsuki's head turned into the alleyway that they were standing before and widened his eyes.

Within the alleyway in the darkness, Itsuki caught a glimpse of a white haired girl in a familiar outfit, turning a corner. There was no doubt it was the same girl he saw in that single moment at the castle, but he started to doubt his senses once again.

"... Itsuki?"

Ren stopped walking, seeing that his friend had stopped.

"Hey, what are you doing, standing around like that?"

Itsuki unconsciously stared silently for a brief moment until his mouth moved, as if it was automated.

"I… I need to check something. Just go on ahead of me, Ren." His attention never diverted from the alleyway. "I'll catch up soon."

Before Ren could get his response out, Itsuki had already been walking down the alleyway.

"H-Hey! Hold up!"

Ren bit down on his teeth, wondering what the hell Itsuki was doing right at this time. Regardless, that feeling of Itsuki's aloofness didn't feel right, but it was and that Itsuki had already done during his time in Melromarc.

'_Wait, did he see the white-haired girl?_'

Silently gasping at the possibility, Ren's legs became to run into the alleyway after his friend upon his realization. Considering the situation, do first, ask questions later seemed to be the strategy here.

He could only hope that it didn't take up too much time.

* * *

**)**—**(\**IV**| Chapter 1-08 |**IV**/)|**—**(  
)\\( The Catalyst Among Tribulations )/(**

* * *

The throne room was getting ready to have its trial as murmurs spread across their spectators and knights remained vigilant to ensure everything went correctly. The king sat on his throne, tapping his fingers along the armrest as a flustered anger defined his face. Aldrecht kept glancing over, keeping checks on the friend to ensure that he wouldn't just explode, especially when he had discovered who the apparent victim was just a few moments ago.

"How could that be, Myne!? This entire situation makes no sense!" Motoyasu's single shout highlighted itself in the room. "Naofumi wouldn't do something like that!"

He stood in front of the king, the audience of the nobles, the collection of knights, and the apparent victim of this case herself, Myne Sophia. Compared to how she was presenting herself during the first day, her expression seemed to be more somber and she took silent, minimum movements. In between them had been Lothringen, standing as if he was a personal knight for the poor adventurer.

"Tell me that all of this is a misunderstanding. If it was, then all of this won't need to happen! The trial and the disbelief—all of it won't need to exist anymore!"

"I'm sorry, Sir Motoyasu. It's the truth. It's been two days since the incident and I still can't comprehend it myself, but it's not as if I could keep quiet about this." Her face turned away from Motoyasu. "Regardless if he's a Cardinal Hero or not…"

"No, this can't be it!" Motoyasu exclaimed, taking a single step forwards out of his anguish.

Myne's hands were beginning to shake, probably from being at unease. "Even now, I still wonder if the Shield Hero had ill intentions, but what I could say for certain that it was indeed the Shield Hero that tried to rape me… And I was scared for my life."

Tears were starting to build up along her eyes as she tried to embrace herself to calm herself down.

"I wanted the Shield Hero to be innocent too, but my conscience won't allow for it!" Myne screamed. "I want the Shield Hero to be innocent, but my memory of his attempt to rip my clothes off by force refuses to leave me!"

For what Motoyasu saw, it was a genuine scream. She would have fallen over onto her knees from the shock if Lothringen had not been there to catch her.

"_Myne_…"

Motoyasu bit his tongue. He didn't know how to react to this situation as he glanced down to the ground, as if the answers were written out there in small, fine print. His body was in mere shock of the incident he had learned about this morning and he just wanted to deny everything that didn't make sense to him.

All in the meanwhile, Zellus stood at the back of the audience, leaning against a wall and keeping another vantage point of the area. He watched as the Spear Hero, who had arrived about an hour ago, pleaded with the victim of the case in his confusion. He had never actually listened to the conversation since he already knew what would come out of it.

He was more concerned about why the Sword Hero and Bow Hero haven't shown up yet.

Out of the corner of his eyes, two people walked up to him. It was a single male mage that wore an extravagant cloak and another female fighter with tight reddish armour, but considering the situation, they were probably some of the party members that the heroes sent ahead of them.

"Hey, you're the [Demon Knight], right?" the woman asked. "Do you mind if we ask you to do something for us?"

Zellus glanced at them. "Depends. Since you two aren't my superiors, I'm not going to do anything that's too much work with no profit for me."

"Can you at least hear our request?" the mage asked. "It's about the whereabouts of the Bow Hero, and to an extent, the Sword Hero too."

"What about them?"

"We think something might have happened to them. Go check it out."

Zellus looked at the two adventurers for a silent moment before he smirked. In a way, Zellus also had the feeling that something might have happened to them since he couldn't imagine those two skipping the trial, especially after how he heard the Bow Hero stood up for the Shield Hero as Lothringen arrested him.

"I don't have any promises to keep and the time for the trial is almost beginning." Zellus pushed himself off the wall and scoffed. "Though, I'll go look for them and see if they can at least catch _part_ of the trial. It's not like I have anything else to gain by watching this trial unfold since I can pretty much figure out how it's going to play out. I might as well have some fun."

Zellus walked around the scene and had the throne room's doors opened up for him. Of course, attention was brought over to him as they thought it was Naofumi entering, but all Zellus returned was a stern expression. It was not for the audience, nor any of the knights.

He gave that expression for one person to understand and realize what was going on without needing to say a single word.

He walked out without hesitation as the guarding knights closed the door back on him.

'_Now, let's see if the Church of Three Heroes got you two as well._'

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

The backstreets of the city seemed to look like a labyrinth, though simple in comparison to a real one. However, Itsuki made more turns than Ren would have expected as he watched the back of his childhood friend, wondering if there was a connection here.

If there was a moment to find out more about the white haired girl that both Motoyasu and Itsuki spoke about, then he was all down to know. Whoever this person was, she must have known the reasons they were brought here.

Eventually, they came to a dead end of a wide clearing behind some buildings.

"Itsuki, wait up!"

Ren caught up with the distracted friend as the friend started looking around for… _something_. He was looking for something that clearly wasn't here since it was simply an empty clearing. Even Itsuki had been emitting a type of confusion into the air, darting his head about with a disgruntled expression.

"Hey, Itsuki. Wake up already," Ren called out. "There's no one here."

"_Where… Where are you…?_"

Calling out was no good for some reason. It was like it was trapped in a trance, ignoring everything that Ren was saying. If Itsuki kept this up, he couldn't promise him that his face wasn't going to be slapped leaving the alleyways.

"Itsuki, get a grip already!"

Ren walked forward and started snapping his finger in front of his friend's eyes. Thankfully, Ren didn't need to resort to physical slapstick violence as Itsuki jolted up once the few clicks broke through.

"H-Huh? W-Where am I?" Itsuki looked around once more, as if he didn't even do it yet. "Aren't we supposed to be at the castle!?"

"You tell me, genius!" Ren snapped. "You're the one that decided to walk over here!"

"Did I?"

"_You did_."

Itsuki scratched his head. "That's… weird."

"Whatever. Let's just forget about this." Ren walked on, beginning their backtracking as Itsuki turned in preparation to follow him. "We only lost like five minutes because of this random detour. Let's head off before we—"

Ren froze when he heard something drop from the sky and land behind them.

Without much hesitation, Ren's head turned around to see over Itsuki's shoulder alongside his surprised expression. Ren himself was making an expression, scrunching his brows up in the oddity.

"Huh? Ren? What's the matter?"

"W-What the…?"

In Ren's eyes, there was a figure in a dark cloak, covering itself without letting any parts of their skin be shown. They looked over their shoulder the moment Ren revealed the truth, he noticed a mask covering their face and a glaring amber eye that lit up through the hole.

The figure raised its arm and threw needles towards the two heroes; more specifically, they flew towards Itsuki's back.

"Itsuki! Get down!"

Ren reacted as quickly as he could and pulled Itsuki out of the way. They both slammed onto the ground, but Itsuki groaned as he sprawled on the dusty ground. He reached for his shoulders like his muscles were contracting, steadying slowing down like his body was shutting down.

Ren glanced at the back of his shoulder, needing that a few needles were able to land.

"I-I can't move!" Itsuki shouted. "I think it's a paralysis status effect! Wait, what's going on!?"

The masked figure turned around and drew a dagger out of its cloak, running towards Ren and Itsuki rapidly. It closed the gap instantaneously, but Ren reacted the moment he saw the weapon and stood up quickly, slamming his sword against the approaching dagger.

Ren pushed forwards and knocked back the masked figure as he straightened himself up.

With Itsuki on the ground and the masked figure making clear advances to take them down, Ren could only assume that this was an assassin that someone sent to take care of them. For what reason was it? He couldn't tell immediately; his mind was too focused on the opponent to even consider the thought.

All he wanted to do was take care of this enemy.

The masked figure brought up its dagger and its amber eyes met with Ren's blue eyes. It was clear that asking questions wasn't going to do anything for him, so Ren did what he knew he could do.

Ren readied his sword as Itsuki winced on the ground.

Ren kicked off the ground, running towards the mysterious opponent and colliding a starting lock between the two weapons.

"What the hell is your problem!?"

The masked man didn't respond, making Ren click his tongue in sudden adrenaline.

"A silent one, huh!?"

He threw out a few slashes to see how the enemy dealt with the attacks, noting how they evaded every single strike. Ren kept himself slow, sparing his energy, but even that rhythm had been fairly quick to the untrained.

The assassin, even though its blade was shorter, felt like more of a challenge compared to the knight he dueled on Zellus' request. Its movements were deft and precise; if Ren were to compare it to a player in Itsuki's _Dimension Wave_, this assassin would be a player who had focused their job levels all in agility.

Similarly, he knew that the assassin was observing him and his attacks. Unlike the knight, who launched everything they had in the first few moments, this fight depended on who would show their cards on the table first. Ren had confidence that the assassin would be able to counteract against an opening and he expected the assassin to know likewise.

A good player of _Brave Star Online_ can tell if an enemy player is skilled or not from the way they moved.

The dagger flicked into the sword, pushing both fighters away from each other. Ren stopped himself before he reached Itsuki's body, but the assassin was the first to rebound, throwing his dagger at blinding speeds.

Blood spilled out, but not much. His face was scratched, nothing else. He reacted quickly enough, moving his head before it hit. The assassin left himself open and weaponless, leaving Ren to prepare to close the gap.

However, Ren froze.

The assassin disappeared before his eyes.

"W-What!?"

Like an afterimage fading.

"Grah!"

Ren turned around, hearing Itsuki's cry right behind him. The assassin had somehow made it past Ren and stomped Itsuki in the stomach. He could see the light from Itsuki's eyes disappearing, but considering what was done, Itsuki was only losing consciousness. His body went limp.

The assassin held his fist tightly and fired a point-blank strike to Ren's stomach, leaving the Sword Hero wondering how he was able to appear behind him in the blink of an eye. The pain rushed through his body as he was sent flying backwards, rolling around until his back slammed against the far wall.

Ren tried to move, but he noticed an extra icon behind his meters. It was a lightning bolt and if he had to assume, that was the status ailment representation for paralysis. Ren glanced down to his stomach to see that the punch was not an ordinary punch, but one that was lined with needles between the fingers. Ren couldn't even feel his stomach anymore; it was numb from the attack.

The assassin slowly walked up to the fallen hero, glancing downwards as if it was pitiful of the fight.

Ren growled through his status ailment, shaking his body, yet unable to move it. He was completely powerless and they were both taken down before the fight could even begin.

"_W-Who… the hell are you_?" he stammered.

The assassin swung his foot and gutted Ren's stomach, as his consciousness began to waver.

"I have no reason to answer you."

Ren's vision eventually fell to darkness.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

"The Shield Hero has arrived!"

Motoyasu's head swung around to see his friend being pushed into the throne room. He was dressed in his underclothing and the only resemblance that kept Naofumi on the same level as himself was the legendary shield on his arm. However, he could tell it was the same Naofumi that he knew, right down to the wryly smile on his face.

"Motoyasu!"

"_Naofumi_…"

"So the Shield Hero has arrived." Lothringen glared at the assumed culprit. The knights pushed Naofumi further into the throne room as Lothringen turned to the king. He bowed once and spoke to him. "Your Majesty, let us begin with the trial immediately."

"Wait!" Motoyasu stomped his foot down. "We have to wait for Ren and Itsuki! They have much of a right to be here too!"

"Ren and Itsuki haven't arrived yet?" Naofumi asked, surprisingly.

"They were told to arrive in the morning by the knights," Lothringen answered without breaking his bow. "We gave them time to travel here and if they were able to send their party members ahead of time, I see no reason as to why they shouldn't be here as well. Perhaps they sent their party members as representatives in their place."

Motoyasu clicked his tongue. He wanted to worry for them, but Lothringen showed no faltering in the hero's words. He continued to speak without letting the heroes respond any further.

"Unless Your Majesty believes in giving some extra time for the remaining Cardinal Heroes?"

The king closed his eyes, almost like he considered both sides, but as he gripped onto the armrest of the throne and looked over to the victim, he returned to Lothringen with a resolute and firm response. Motoyasu's breath held silent, seeing how tightly the king was clenching his hand. All Aldrecht did was cast a simple glance, unreadable in his perceptive.

"We will start the trial _immediately_."

"Then let's just get this over with quickly, alright!?"

Motoyasu screamed and turned immediately to Naofumi.

"Naofumi! Did you try and rape Myne!?"

"N-No! I didn't—!"

Naofumi realized that he never knew who was the one making the accusations in the first place. During his time being arrested and taken to the dungeons, he never heard a single thing about his own case except the apparent crime he commited.

"Hold up! Did you say '_Myne'_!?"

His eyes glanced around the throne room for the first time; he was originally distracted from Motoyasu's presence, but he noticed Myne over on the other side, distancing herself away from him.

'_Myne… was the one to accuse me of sexual assault?_'

He felt like he should be angry, but if anything, Naofumi was wholefully confused. He couldn't find the words to speak, croaking in a daze. He wanted answers more than anything, but he thought that the first day they spent together went well.

What caused it to flip around in a single night?

She looked conflicted herself.

During his time in the dungeon, he tried to keep himself optimistic, even with his neighbour's warnings. However, Naofumi could have never expected this result, but his mouth moved by itself.

"M-Myne! Tell me this has to be a joke! Tell me what's going on here!"

"Enough of this nonsense." Lothringen's resolution voice conquered the throne room when he stood back up as if the king gave him a microphone. "Let us begin the trial of the Shield Hero, Naofumi Iwatani, and his crimes of sexual assault upon Myne Sophia. I shall present the discovered evidence for the king to make his judgements and once it has concluded, the wise king shall make his final decision."

"Doesn't Naofumi get a defense attorney or something!?"

Lothringen raised his eyebrows at Motoyasu's outburst. "Defense… attorney? If you speak for a judge, then the wise king shall be the one to make the verdict. As the wise king, his choices are fair. I am merely here to present my findings and answer any trivial questions about the case."

Naofumi remembered what Eclair told him in the cells.

She told him that the king had a grudge against the Shield Hero and there was a possibility that he was against him all this time. The specifics as to why the king hated the Shield Hero figure hadn't been known to her, but if the trial went on normally, there would be a heavy leaning for the king to decide that Naofumi was guilty.

He understood that the king might be in a blind distrustful state. He had just hoped that the king gave him more time to prove himself as someone that he didn't need to hate, but stepping down to condemn him wasn't going to do anything.

However, Eclair enlightened him on the chance to escape the trial's bad end. Since he revealed that Lothringen was personally investigating, he no longer needed to convince the king. If he could play off the evidence that Lothringen presented and allow him to lean onto the notion that Naofumi might have been framed, the captain's words will be able to have an influence.

That was the game here, but there was one problem with the plan.

Naofumi realized he had absolutely _no _idea how to execute it the moment he came into the throne room. The plan shattered before it could begin due to the lack of an actual plan.

'_Wow, books make these things a lot easier than it seems._'

The king glared directly at Naofumi, as if to size him up, before turning over to Lothringen. Aldrecht remained silent to the crowd, but Naofumi could see a worried expression on his face.

"Lothringen, you may begin."

"Of course, Your Majesty."

Lothringen turned around and glanced at Naofumi.

"To begin the trial, I would like for the accused to present the testimony of the night of the incident. For clarification, this would be the day before your arrest, Shield Hero. Please provide all and any details you think might be sufficient to prove your innocence."

Naofumi knew he should be trying to explain everything in detail, but his mind was shrouded. His memories were blocked by the dopamine of his first day on that adventure. He was starting to curse the fact that he wasn't paying much attention, but he still tried his best.

"Okay, so after we parted from the castle, we went to fight in the fields. We returned to the city and did some shopping. I even met Ren, the Sword Hero, at a blacksmith owned by a man named Erhart. We settled down afterwards at an inn Myne recommended and had a meal together. I finished up early and as the sun went down, I went up to my room and slept. When I woke up, all of you knocked at my door and arrested me."

"For clarity, would you say you went to sleep at sunset or night time?"

"Sunset," Naofumi answered. He remembered the beautiful scenery as he collapsed in the bed.

"Is that all you wish to add as your testimony?"

"It's all I can recall."

Motoyasu frowned. He knew there was something weird with the testimony already, but calling it out might make him look bad. It wasn't as if he wanted to cast Myne _or_ Naofumi as liars, but their words both contradicted each other. Motoyasu probably wanted to truth as much as, if not then more than, anyone else in the room.

"Not that I believe you, but I want to ask you something important, Naofumi."

Before Motoyasu was able to ask, Myne scowled softly at Naofumi.

"That's not how it happened." Motoyasu glanced backwards at the emotionally-worn Myne. "He's leaving out the most important factor of that testimony!"

Naofumi flinched, not knowing what Myne was talking about. "W-What? What did I miss!?"

"The catalyst that caused you to break into my room!"

Lothringen raised his hand to Myne, silenting her without even saying a single word. She bit down on his tongue and glanced away, acting shameful four making an outburst.

"If that is what the Shield Hero would like to offer as his story, then the wise king shall be the one to interpret it." Lothringen looked at the victim. "If it's not too much of a personal pain, I would like Myne Sophia to present her testimony."

Myne's arms started to shiver as if the memory was too much for her to recall. Without looking at Naofumi, she listened to Lothringen's request after a moment to collect her strength.

"Once I finished my meal, I went out around the town by myself. When I heard the Spear Hero was at an inn's tavern, I came to talk to him to make sure that there weren't any issues with me switching over. We spent time together until night had fallen, so I dismissed myself from him and returned to my inn.

Motoyasu wasn't saying anything about that part of the testimony, so Naofumi assumed that part was true.

"We had separate rooms, so I simply went to mine. It was when I heard knocking in the middle of night and I peeked outside my door to see that it was the Shield Hero. I didn't think much about it, so I opened it up to him. However, I noticed he had a scent of alcohol on him. Of course, I welcomed him, asking what he had wanted, but he pushed me down on the bed. H-He tried to..."

Motoyasu's face became uncomfortable as Myne walked on.

"—we understand the idea." Lothringen stopped Myne as it seemed like she was becoming rather uncomfortable explaining the details. "What occurred after the assault?"

"I managed to break out of his attempt and I managed to escape through the window. We were on the second floor, so although it was a considerable drop, I didn't hurt myself much. Though, I didn't know if the Shield Hero was chasing me or not, so I found a place to hide within the alleys until dawn came when one of the knights on patrol noticed me."

Everyone listened attentively, but it looked like the king himself was becoming enraged. It felt like the king could have started shouting curses at Naofumi, but couldn't due to his current position.

Obviously, Naofumi didn't recall any of his inclusion in Myne's testimony because he was sure that he wasn't the one to do it. However, he felt like people were going to be more inclined to believe Myne due to her more emotional retelling over his objective explaining.

Lothringen nodded, thanking Myne for her words.

"It is clear we have a contradiction standing. I shall now present my findings for the wise king." A knight darted from the crowd and handed to Lothringen a stack of paper that was clipped together at the corner. "If any of my discovered evidence is able to jog the memory of the Shield Hero or Myne Sophia, I will not judge you on changing that testimony."

"Please proceed, Lothringen," the king stated.

"I'd like to go over the witness accounts of the case." Lothringen flipped open the papers and started to scan through the documents. "I have here a few employees of the inn where the victim and the potential culprit had stayed. During the midst of the night, there were some claims to have seen a man with black hair, medium build, and brownish clothes. One of them mentioned that this person looked familiar as they saw him checking in with a red-haired girl earlier that day."

That description literally described Naofumi's current appearance.

"Approximations for these witness accounts appear to be about an hour past midnight."

It was obvious that the person they're mentioning was his appearance, but he doesn't have any recollection of walking around past midnight. Stammering for any rebuttal, he glanced at Motoyasu who had troubled thoughts himself, gritting his teeth to figure this out too, but Naofumi received unexpected support.

Aldrecht stepped forwards.

"Lothringen, how _many _witness accounts are there?"

Lothringen quickly scanned the pages. "There are four employees, Lord Aldrecht. There is also one sighting from another customer of the inn."

"Your Majesty," Aldrecht turned to his right, "do you not think that that is a highly suspicious amount of employees to see the Shield Hero wandering around past midnight?"

The king almost had a disappointed sigh when Aldrecht brought it up. "I suppose you are correct. I will take this evidence lightly, but I shall still accept it."

"Of course."

Murmurs started to levitate from the crowd, but they fell back down when Lothringen spoke again.

"If we are to take the victim's testimony as truth, the Shield Hero is expected to have bought some type of alcohol." He read off the next page. "I went ahead and checked with the innkeeper and the inn's restaurant for their stock records. There was a bottle of wine ordered to the resident of Room 203, the same room as the Shield Hero, around midnight."

"I was asleep during that time," Naofumi claimed.

"The person to bring the drink claimed that the previously described person was the one to accept it."

He didn't know how to even refute that, other than saying that he had never encountered that situation.

"_Hold on_." Motoyasu's voice was stern as he looked like he was hurting to speak. "Naofumi wouldn't have ordered any alcohol by himself. I can't imagine him doing something like that."

"And you claim to already know the Shield Hero? Even though it's been a few days?"

"Yeah, that's right because…!" Motoyasu stopped his sentence as he looked back to Myne. As if he remembered something, he sighed, yet he brightened up when he remembered something else. "T-That's right! The banquet! Naofumi didn't even touch his wine! He had the waiter swap it for tea!"

Naofumi gasped.

He completely forgot about that. It was such a small gesture that he immediately dismissed it.

'_Nice catch, Motoyasu!_'

However, Lothringen sighed. "I assumed that the Shield Hero was still sober during the banquet. However, the person to bring up the bottle claimed the man was already under the influence."

"S-Sir Motoyasu…" Myne's calls for him turned him around. "D-Don't you remember what I told you before? About how I asked the Shield Hero to drink the wine?"

"R-Right…" Motoyasu wryly looked away. "Y-You _did_ say that…"

"I never drank anything though!" Naofumi pleaded. "I refused when Myne offered!"

Motoyasu widened his eyes. "Y-You refused? T-Then…"

"W-Why are you trying to lie!?" Myne cried. "Even now, I had more respect for you than that, but to stoop so low as to refuse everything I say!?"

"Motoyasu, please believe me! You know my stance on alcohol!"

"B-But! The Shield Hero accepted my offer to drink! There's no way I would misremember that moment!"

"I… I…" Motoyasu's troubled eyes glanced between Naofumi and Myne. "I-I don't…"

"Enough of this." Lothringen scoffed, breaking the tug-of-war game on Motoyasu. "If there's nothing you'll contribute as evidence or further inspection to the evidence, you can save it for after the trial's conclusion. Emotions have no place before the king's official presence."

"Well said, Lothringen," the king complimented. "I will now be taking this evidence into my consideration. What else do you have for me?"

Aldrecht appeared disgruntled that it was simply stopped at that.

Lothringen glanced over to the side as one of the knights had responded, walking in with a closed box. Naofumi couldn't see what it was since it was shown to the king first. Motoyasu caught a glimpse and held his own breath at the implications.

"For the next piece of evidence, we were given this medallion from the victim. The condition is still new, but with the sole exception that it must be repaired to be worn properly again." Lothringen prompted the knight to turn the box to Naofumi. His body stiffened to see it be none other than part of his lost equipment. "The chain has been broken, snapped away. The victim claimed that they were able to pull it off the victim during the attempted assault."

"I remember being told that the Shield Hero had none of his equipment or clothing when he was arrested," the king said. "Is this true?"

"That is true, Your Majesty."

"Is that medallion really mine?"

Lothringen nodded. "Every piece of equipment is branded with a serial number and a signature. As the person that helped organize your starting equipment, I can confirm that this medallion is the same one that was given to you at the start."

"I thought that was missing!" Naofumi responded. "That's what I told you that morning, right!?"

"Then what happened to the rest of Naofumi's equipment?" Motoyasu asked.

"We're rather unsure about that," Lothringen answered. "We attempted to find it, but there was no success."

"Frankly, that sounds like a staged excuse," the king stated. "If the first thing that the Shield Hero did was claim that his equipment was mysteriously missing, perhaps there was an intentional reason for it. Say, he couldn't find his medallion anymore and realized that the victim had taken it from him. It may be that he needed to act like everything else was taken away from him."

"But that's…!"

Naofumi made his empty plea, but it was Aldrecht who offered a more reasonable response.

"A moment if you may, Your Majesty." Aldrecht glanced at Naofumi. "I find something odd with your assumption. If the Shield Hero did indeed ditch his equipment after the assault, then I believe that affects the value of the witness testimonies. None of them mentioned anything regarding the Shield Hero in his armour, not did they?"

"... Not that I recall," the king grumbled.

"Then I find it quite unlikely that all five accounts saw the Shield Hero walking _back_ from the victim's room to his room."

"Perhaps he already removed his equipment, but kept his medallion." The king glanced back to Naofumi. That was the second time Aldrecht stepped in, but the king remained unsatisfied and persistent. "In any case, that would be enough."

"Next, we have—"

"No. I claimed that it's enough, Lothringen."

Everyone turned towards the king in the sudden announcement. The captain of the knights himself appeared perplexed and was seemingly ready to present more evidence to the king.

"I'll make a decision now."

"Wait, we're not done here yet!" Motoyasu shouted. He stomped in front of the king in a fury. "I still haven't figured out what's going on here!"

"It is not your—"

"I still have to figure it out for myself! Th-There…!" Motoyasu gritted his teeth. "There has to be a way where both culprit and victim are right!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Spear Hero."

"I can't see either of them lying! There has to be another truth to this!"

Naofumi felt his heart be warmed by Motoyasu's desperate desire. He couldn't help but to softly smile that his friend was trying to help him out. Honestly, if he had been in Motoyasu's position, he'd be quite confused as well.

"Spear Hero, please—"

"Maybe there's a doppelganger of Naofumi. Or someone trying to pretend to be Naofumi!"

"Spear Hero—!"

"Magic that makes you look like someone else exists in this world, right!? Maybe to trick a single perceiver! Maybe that's why Myne thought Naofumi knocked on her door!"

The king slammed his fist on the armrest.

"_Enough!_"

Motoyasu's panicked words were halted by the king. Everyone glanced over to the old man as a frustration crept up onto him.

"If you are to continue to be disruptive, Spear Hero, you may leave the trial!" he screamed. He was really pissed off that Motoyasu kept interrupting him and speaking out of line, but in a stark contrast, Aldrecht merely sighed.

"_Your Majesty_."

Like a command phrase, Aldrecht's two words held the king down. He took a deep breath, thought about his own outburst, then returned to the trial at hand.

"My apologies for that," the king said solemnly, "but the point still remains. I would rather not have anymore unnecessary uproars, Spear Hero. I only felt like the remaining evidence will bring the topic back and forth in a meaningless squabble."

Motoyasu looked like he shrank down. "Isn't that the point of having more evidence? To have more insight on the table?"

"Your Majesty… I… " Lothringen looked towards his ruler and went back, scanning through the rest of the papers he had gathered over the last two days. He made a heavy sigh, as if all his work was being skipped over, but he ended up closing all the pages back. "As you say, Your Majesty. If you do not feel the need to hear anymore, then please cast your judgement."

A part of Naofumi felt really bad for Lothringen and perhaps there was the chance he was waiting for; the opportunity to get the captain of the knights to notice that something was amiss, he was too distracted by Motoyasu.

His friend was caught in the crossfire from two sides, not knowing what side he should take. Even if Naofumi's heart had been pounding away, trying to scream for Motoyasu's help, there wasn't much he could have actually done and that alone made Naofumi hurt in Motoyasu's place.

In a way, Naofumi felt bad for him.

He was the one being called a culprit, but even he still had difficulty understanding why Myne was doing this. Though, if the evidence was slowly being stacked, there wasn't much Naofumi _could_ say. If Motoyasu and Aldrecht hadn't been present, this trial would have appeared much more one-sided, but at the end of the day, it wasn't them who made the decision.

"Naofumi Iwatani, Shield Hero of the Cardinal Heroes."

The king had cleared his throat, covering it into his clenched hand, and then extending the opening palm towards him. It was like the King was giving a blessing, but in fact, it was the polar opposite. Aldrecht held himself on the side, as if he knew what was coming up next.

"I am somewhat convinced that you are the culprit to the sexual assault of adventurer Myne Sophia and you are to be convicted immediately. We takes crimes of sexual assault very seriously and these types of offenses will lead to _death_ penalty."

Both heroes' faces whitened.

"Wait, what!? Hold on, that's insane!" "M-Maybe I should have tried harder to argue back!"

The audience even appeared perplexed at the decision, but Aultcray had raised his hand to quiet everyone down.

"However, the culprit is one of the Cardinal Heroes. If I choose to execute the Shield Hero, we will cripple ourselves for the waves. We cannot summon another to take his place unless the other Cardinal Heroes are to be dead as well, an unreasonable demand."

The sheer thought of his friends dying because of him chilled his spine.

"This is why I will make a single exception here. It is one of the reasons as to why I decided to end the trial early and one of the reasons I chose to base my decision on limited evidence for everyone's sake. I will eliminate the Shield Hero's original penalty, but as a replacement, he will no longer be provided support from the country of Melromarc and will not be welcomed into the castle. This is my mercy for you, Shield Hero."

Naofumi knew the consequences that came out of this, but he couldn't help but to let out a breath of relief.

"_Do not tarnish it. I promise you that you will not have a second chance._"

Aldrecht appeared stunned from the abrupt decision that the king made, but he was the first to return to normality as he turned towards Naofumi.

"Do you understand these terms, Shield Hero?"

What could he say in these types of situations?

Saying nothing makes it look like he did it. Denying everything makes it seem like he did it. There was really no point in even asking the question if it was set up with a double-ended ultimatum, but as Eclair's words about the king rang in his mind, he wondered if this was the king's mercy or blind hatred pulling at the strings.

He needed to affirm it. That was his best answer—really, his only one.

To win the war, they sometimes say that one would have to lose the battle.

"... I understand," Naofumi said, swallowing the pride of innocence.

"This trial is dismissed," the king announced. "Knights, please escort the Shield Hero out promptly."

As the escort team brought Naofumi out, he turned his head backwards to see Motoyasu's expression one more time. The man was subtly shaking, holding the cease of his arm tightly.

Motoyasu was emotionally hurt.

Naofumi knew he needed to clear things up with Motoyasu as soon as possible, but as his face was pointing away, there wasn't much he could have done. There wasn't likely that the knights would let him simply wait outside the castle for Motoyasu to come out.

However, after everything was said and done, he still ended up condemned for a crime he didn't do. And yet, Naofumi's mind had shifted from Motoyasu to the morning of his arrest where Itsuki had come to confront Lothringen, basically promising that he, and probably Ren, would be present at the trial.

As the doors closed behind him, leaving Motoyasu behind in the throne room to his silent grief, Naofumi started to worry about all of his friends.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

Steel clanked down the alleyway.

The assassin grunted as the extravagant knight's daggers spun around with a heavy slam. A split second too late and their head would have been rolling around on the ground, yet this wasn't something that the assassin had to keep track of once. Every single strike could mean death if it was careful; that was the type of opponent the assassin was dealing with now.

Zellus struck, locking his daggers around the assassin's blade.

Even now, it felt like the knight hadn't been using his full potential. He appeared to be actively holding back, trying to lower his strength to an appropriate level to the assassin, but something told him that it wasn't simply because two of the Cardinal Heroes were collapsed on the scene.

"You know, I've wanted to talk to you ever since our first meeting."

"I have nothing to say to an entity like you."

"Entity, huh? Not even referred to as our own people. That sorta hurts."

Zellus flicked his daggers upwards, sending the assassin's arms into a similar trajec ` tory. His grip with his dagger was strong though, as if it was glued to his hand, but his body staggered backwards. The knight stepped up and kicked the assassin away. His body bounced against the ground, but used the momentum to flip over, throwing needles at his opponent.

They were nearly invisible due to their thinness, but Zellus knocked them away with ease. The assassin used the opportunity to get his footing back and throw his dagger in the wake of the needles. It flew towards Zellus' head, who had merely tilted it to the left to avoid it.

However, the assassin disappeared as the dagger left his peripheral.

Zellus gripped his dagger and attacked behind him, meeting the assassin's teleportation attack. He used it once already during their first battle and even then, Zellus hadn't been caught off guard from it. He was already familiar with tricky opponents like him, but he still could hear the exasperation through the mask.

"Your attacks are a bit jaded. You'll need to come up with something better and unexpected if you want to penetrate through my combined defenses of prediction and reaction."

With his other hand, he flicked upwards his second dagger and grabbed the assassin's wrist. He tugged backwards and over his shoulder, slamming the assassin's back against the ground. Zellus' foot then slammed on the right breast. Meanwhile, the second dagger fell back downwards, planting itself right next to the assassin's head, while he took his onhand dagger as a pointer.

"You can't use cheap tricks when fighting someone like me." Zellus was still smiling. "They have to be expensive ones if you want the chance."

"So you say."

"Hmm?"

Zellus noticed the assassin's finger twitched slightly and he immediately felt his legs being sntached up by a thin wire. It was like it would have sliced through his skin as it tightened around, pulling him away and into the clearing above. He was hung upside down, realizing that the entire area above their fight was like a web of similar webs and he was being strung along like a pianta.

Choosing to drop his dagger, he held onto the two weapons along his hip, making sure that they didn't slide out. The giant broadsword and katana on his back were securely locked, so there was no need to worry about them.

The assassin equipped his needles and tossed them towards Zellus. Being the sitting duck that he was, he had no choice other than to take the attack; he released his rapier to have the needles penetrate his arm instead.

A numbing feeling surged into his arm, but he acted like it wasn't bothering him.

Really, it sorta wasn't.

"Huh." Zellus nonchalantly glanced at the recovering assassin. "This one's new. Haven't been in a situation like this one against a human before. Though, I think this one's a bit tougher to break out from compared to monster webs. _Unfortunately, not sticky, so that cuts the difficulty of escape..._"

"You're obviously one of them."

Zellus raised his eyebrows as the blood was rushing to his head. He heard somewhere that a normal person can't survive being upside down for about three hours; he was randomly reminded of that thought just now, but it wasn't like that rule of thumb affected him too much anyways.

"If you want information about _that_, then sorry. I can't tell you."

"There's no need to tell me anything about you guys," the assassin spoke. "I already know enough; if I can knock you out and bring you back, that would be beneficial to my allies. You'll be used that way."

The knight made an amused chuckle. "What am I, a test subject?"

"You can consider it like that."

"And what if I willingly blew the lid on the whole shtick? If you know about us, then you must know what happens when we talk about _it_."

"You wouldn't dare. You don't get another chance to come back and you people treasure your lives over everything else."

Zellus smirked. "Interesting. Well, I can't confirm or deny that detail for obvious reasons."

The assassin picked up Zellus' dropped daggers and looked at them for a bit. It was like he was trying to analyze it, but then threw it away to the side as if he was done with it. His guard was up the entire time, so Zellus had to commend him for that.

"You're different from the others," the assassin mulled. "This isn't your true personality, is it? You're hiding in plain sight, acting and waiting for an opportunity to topple this capital."

The assassin twitched his fingers once again; Zellus was caught along his arms from the wires, pulling it outwards like a crucifixion posture stemmed towards the sky. His saber and rapier eventually slide away from the sheaths, clacking as they hit the ground.

Nevertheless, Zellus kept himself calm, even tending to the assassin's conversation.

He hummed, almost whimsically, to affirm it.

"You'd be right. This isn't the personality I originally had, but it's the one I'm choosing to keep. My original personality was violent, brutish, egoistic and borderline insane. _Just like the rest_. In retrospect, it was a wonder how I managed to last as long as I did. However—"

'_I am the source of my power. Let the winds sharpen and slice through everything.'_

'_[Zweite Wind Cutter]_.'

'_[Cancel, Magic Equip]._'

Zellus' body exploded in a gale, slicing away his restraints and falling downwards from his prison. His body felt lighter as he soared into the assassin and drew out his giant broadsword. The wind that was covering his body transitioned into his weapon, releasing a trailing hurricane as he swung downwards.

The assassin clicked his tongue and leapt out of the way, letting the collision hit the ground, but the impact still managed to push him against the wall. Dust kicked up from the wind as Zellus' saber flew out from the eye of the storm, causing him to roll out of the way.

Zellus was already following up, closing the distance quickly to right where the assassin rolled to. The enemy threw up his dagger to block, but the power behind the swing was too heavy to deal with, sending the assassin backwards into the corner.

He used the perpendicular wall to stop his tumbling and noticed Zellus was already right before him, sending an overhead attack. The assassin quickly threw his dagger away and as the blade connected with his shoulder, he was able to teleport to his dagger in time, catching it in a roll to the center of the battlefield-made alleyway.

Blood was dripping from his shoulder though, as he held onto it to try and stop it.

The assassin watched as Zellus slowly walked up; his giant sword had a sheath of violent gales surrounding it. There was no doubt that it could have instantly cut through armour if it treated flesh like melted butter.

"However, I put that life behind me. I found my peace here in the capital. Other than dealing with the Church of Three Heroes, there's no hidden agenda for me. Maybe the others would be like me if they realized their wrongdoings too."

"That doesn't matter. You are still a soul of chaos, fabricated by the false beings." The assassin stood up straight. "Either you will be used to open up a path to our goal or you will be killed by us. There's no other outcome for you."

"Then I guess you'll have to work hard to kill me. C'mon, it's easy!" Zellus disengaged his magic and rested the sword on his shoulder and he glanced around. He changed his mind and used the chance to collect up his dropped weapons. "You know what my cheat is, surely! By now, it should be pretty obvious!"

The assassin looked at his health bar with his Status Magic, or rather—he couldn't see it at all. It was glitched and no amount of damage changed that, not even his sustaining injury. He didn't understand it to an extent, but all he needed to know was that the health bar and other meters weren't simply glitched; that was simply the placeholder if the health bar had been removed from the world.

_Anti-Status Magic_ _(Absolute)_, or so it was called.

It was a weird one, relatively speaking.

"All you have to do is land a fatal attack on me, levels and stats be damned!" Zellus tugged on his saber stuck in the wall and sheathed it. "Simple, right!? Doesn't that make it so much more fun than a numbers game!?"

The assassin said nothing, glaring through the mask's eye holes and Zellus reciprocated, reading the amber eyes from within. He kept eye contact, even as he walked over to where his daggers were.

"Huh. Whatever I say, it won't get you riled up for a serious fight. It feels like you're simply scouting me out." Zellus shrugged. "You still have things to do, don't you? Quite the busy guy. You're already finding work after coming out of the first wave here."

The assassin remained silent.

It was true; their first meeting had been during this world's first wave of destruction, but he would never have expected to meet one of the objectives the moment his feet touched the ground.

"Look, I already have the feeling that you're working with the Church of Three Heroes, but if I beat you here, you won't be able to execute your orders. And you don't look like the person that would crack under torture. Pulling you in would be meaningless and we need the Church to keep acting if we're going to take them down." He knelt down and dusted off his dropped dagger on his clothes. "Tell you what. Go run off. Your mission's already completed and I lost. There's no more reason for you to dwindle around."

"There's _you_."

"_Oh_? And you think you can defeat me with _that_ skill?" Zellus returned one of his daggers, but tossed the other one at the assassin. There was no need to move; the dagger merely grazed the edge of the mask and flew past. "I don't know who you really are, but all I can tell is that, like many other people in this world, you've grown dependent on the numerical system. _That's not true strength_ nor is it fun when everything is pseudo-calculated for you."

The assassin clicked his tongue.

He had heard rumours of the knight named Zellus, looking further into his information when he realized it was the same person from that day. He was known for being one of the strongest knights in Melromarc and he was starting to see why.

High levels didn't matter to someone who entirely negated it and being a warrior with a high skill ceiling immediately shattered the gap.

He held his dagger as it mysteriously changed forms and shadow-like mist started to seep out from his weapon.

"Don't think this is the last time you'll meet me."

"I'll be glad to meet you again on the battlefield. Just work on fighting capabilities, not your numbers, and you'll eventually be on my level with ease. Though, I don't think I need to tell you that. At that point—"

Zellus's voice suddenly growled as it looked like a demonic spirit possessed him for a brief second, smiling with insanity lurking in his dilated eyes. Chills were sent into the assassin's spine as he caught a glance at Zellus' former self and it was truly something to fear.

"—_I'll be happy to kill you_."

He met people in Zellus' situation before, but Zellus himself looked like he knew _exactly_ what he was doing in comparison, as the snarl from the knight seeped underneath his skin.

"One day, you will be defeated."

The mist started to cover the assassin, devouring him entirely. Zellus couldn't even see the outline of the person anymore; it was too dense to see through even a single layer, but as it started to dissipate, one more lasting comment echoed away.

"_One day, you and your false gods will fall_."

The black mist collapsed gracefully into the ground as a shadow, as if the earth had been devouring it and the assassin was no longer present before Zellus.

He hung his head and sighed.

'_I mean, they're not _my _gods. If it was up to me, I don't want to be associated with them anymore._'

Zellus glanced about the battlefield, noting both the Sword Hero and the Bow Hero lifelessly lying on the ground. The wind that Zellus kicked up must have tossed their bodies towards the wall as they were unnaturally slumped.

He walked up to them, tapping their bodies with his foot.

They were making _some_ subtle noises, so he knew that they were at the very least alive. To what degree, it didn't really matter at this point.

The Church was starting to extend their plans outwards and if they were to find more evidence, they needed them to act out of line. It's nice to be aware of one of their pieces in this oversized chess game, but they needed more on their side.

He looked at the two heroes once again.

There was no other way around it considering they were attacked.

Perhaps, it was time to let them enter the fray, head first.

He hoped Aldrecht didn't mind his executive decision.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 017 : Fiction**

[Itsuki] : "To think, they had fairy tales about us. Honestly, that makes me a little happy."

[Ren] : "Remember, it's not about us. It's probably adventurers passed down by the former Cardinal Heroes that are depicted in the publication books. And who's to say that they actually happened? They are called _fairy tales_ for a reason, Itsuki. Fictional stories just to satisfy the people."

[Itsuki] : "Oh, come on. Let me dream a bit, Ren!"

[Itsuki] : "Wait, maybe we don't have to dream! Once we go onwards past this entire mess, we'll all have great stories to pass onto this world. We'll be engraved in this world's history if we complete our job properly! Have our own adventures! Rise up to greatness! Eliminate the evil that lurks in the world! And most importantly, defeat the final boss!"

[Ren] : "Alternatively, we all get killed by the final boss."

[Itsuki] : "W-Why would you say that!?"

[Ren] : "What? It's all going to fall into fiction anyways. Might as well make a story with a twist ending. I could imagine it now. Over three hundred and fifty chapters worth of narrative, only for the Cardinal Heroes to get one-shotted by the final boss. Though, it's less of a twist ending and more of a middle finger. It's an amusing thought."

[Itsuki] : "... You're a terrible person, Ren."

[Ren] : "Pfft. What? I thought it was funny."

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**


	10. Chapter 1-09 : Allies and Enemies

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

Aldrecht took a deep breath.

He would be lying to say that he approved of his friend's executive decision in the throne room, but he would also be lying if this wasn't one of the foreseeable best case scenarios, all things considering. Honestly, he was imagining his friend being much more outraged that the Shield Hero would have commited a crime of sexual assault against the incognito daughter, but those two days of separation from the crime and the trial helped him subside his inherent anger.

Thinking back when Aultcray had learned about the crime was almost too much.

Like a child throwing a tantrum, the king would have walked out of his chamber to the prison cells to strangle the apparent culprit himself if it wasn't for Aldrecht's soothing reassurance and convincing. There wasn't anybody else that could do the same job; in fact, Aultcray had no royal knights like his family since he believed that his loyal friend was sufficient enough.

He was trying to look for the first daughter throughout the castle, but after being asked by Lothringen to help file the paperworks to the spymaster's archives, he had lost track of her and he didn't want to interrupt the king as he had other business to attend to.

In any case, there was still one objective that he could complete.

He never forgot that during the trial, the Spear Hero looked to make a genuine attempt to help out the Shield Hero before the victim swayed his emotions in the other direction. Set aside Myne, Aldrecht believed that the Spear Hero thought the Shield Hero as innocent by default and still wanted to believe that by the end.

Seeing that Zellus left to try and find the Sword Hero and the Bow Hero before the trial, there was a good chance that Zellus would try to convince them that there's something going on with the Church of Three Heroes and get them on their side. He supposed that he shouldn't slack either.

He approached one of the guest rooms and knocked on the door.

"Spear Hero? Are you in there?"

The Spear Hero had requested a place to rest and think after the trial ended and the king had graciously given him one of the prepared guest rooms.

There was a brief echo from within the room. They were inherently flawed due to the material used for the door and the queen had wanted to get them replaced for a while, but never found the absolute need to do so.

Aldrecht started listening without realizing it.

"_Look, I want to believe you. I really do, but I need you to understand that it's incredibly hard for me to do so. Naofumi is a good friend of mine; we've been through a good amount with each other. Ups and downs and he's always been there for me. It feels wrong to not be there for him right now._"

That voice belonged to the Spear Hero. He must have not heard the knocking or his question, but Aldrecht could indeed confirm that he was awake and in the room.

As he lifted his hand once more to knock a bit harder, another voice came after.

"_I know you're a good person, Sir Motoyasu. I'd feel confused if someone I trusted went off and did a crime too, but I wasn't lying to say that I saw Sir Naofumi that night. Even so, I still want to journey with a hero. I don't want one bad experience to ruin the opportunity of a lifetime._"

That was the voice of Aultcray's first daughter.

Aldrecht was baffled as to why she was there.

Her father didn't want her to go out again due to the incident, but he guessed that if the daughter wants something, she'll ultimately be granted that desire by her father, even if it goes against what he wants.

However, Aldrecht couldn't help but to think that she was there to block Aldrecht from interacting with the Spear Hero. Lucky for him, the knight operatives were still existent within the heroes' parties, excluding the Shield Hero. Their first report he had for the Spear Hero said he was a well-meaning and lighthearted person.

He could certainly use that.

"Spear Hero?" He knocked with a bit more force and the conversation from within stopped. "Are you in there? I'd like to have a word with you."

After a few seconds, the blonde-haired man opened the door.

"O-Oh? Aldrecht?"

"Yes, indeed." Aldrecht saw no one else in the room except for the princess, sitting on the couch. "May I come in? I would like to talk to you about something."

"O-Oh, yeah. Of course. Come on in."

Motoyasu opened the door for Aldrecht to step inside, leaving the girl to have a straight face. She obviously didn't look like she wanted his uncle figure in the room.

"I've heard that the victim of the Shield Hero's case wished to accompany you."

As Aldrecht took a seat across from the princess, Motoyasu walked to sit next to her, nodding in affirmation.

"Yeah. Regardless of what I feel about the trial, I want to give Myne a second chance. She told me that it's a dream of hers to accompany a Cardinal Hero and I didn't mind helping her out. Considering how the rest of my party members are female too, I thought it was the most logical thing to do to make her feel safe."

"Then I suppose I should tell you the weight of the choice you have made."

"What do you mean?"

"The person beside you is the first princess of Melromarc. Her name is not Myne Sophia, but Malty Melromarc."

Motoyasu's expression widened, and so did Malty's face when Aldrecht casually answered his question.

"M-Myne! You're a princess!?"

"I-I didn't want to tell you because people start to act differently because of that knowledge…"

"I want you to understand that you aren't dealing with a normal adventurer, Spear Hero," Aldrecht continued. "Her father is entrusting you to protect her, especially in the aftermath of the trial. Between you and me, he's one of those overprotective parents that still sees his daughter as their adorable child."

Malty looked like she was holding her tongue back.

"That means as his retainer, I must ensure that mistakes like the Shield Hero do not happen again."

Motoyasu wanted to ask the exposed princess questions, but then again, that would be playing to what she didn't want. He let himself be taken by the flow of the conversation, sinking as Aldrecht talked.

"Naofumi as a mistake… I… I still have a hard time believing that…"

Aldrecht looked at the wryly expressions. They were appearing genuine, which locks another confirmation in his assumptions.

"In any case, I wanted to let you know who you were recruiting into your party. Now then, Miss Malty…" He turned to the princess, who kept up her poker face. If he wanted to talk to the Spear Hero alone, he needed to remove her from the room.

However, he staggered to think of a reason to get her to leave without making the Spear Hero suspicious. She herself was probably suspicious of why he had shown up, but if she willingly went to accuse the Shield Hero of a severe crime, there must have been a reason.

He feared it was relations with the Church of Three Heroes.

"Never mind." He shook his head. He'll have somebody tell him to meet him in his personal quarters later on. It doesn't look like he has the energy to move out for a day of training. "I simply wanted to let you know that."

As Aldrecht stood up, Motoyasu held his hand out to stop him.

"Wait, I need to ask you something." Motoyasu stood up as well. "Do you think that Naofumi tried to rape Myne, the princess?"

Aldrecht glanced at the girl, as if she was attentive waiting for the response as well.

He stood silently, trying to figure out the words to say until they smoothly slipped out of his mouth.

"What I believe isn't relevant. _However_, I possess the remaining evidence that Lothringen was not able to present to the king. If you wish, you may follow me to my chambers and we can review it together before I send it down to the royal spymaster. I was a bit curious as to what he found as well."

"... I would like that, Aldrecht. Please take me there."

"I-I'll come as well!" The princess stood up brazenly.

"Miss Malty, that appears to be unnecessary," Aldrecht replied, predicting that may arise. "Besides, it'll be rather odd for the victim of a case to inspect the very evidence that belonged to her trial."

"It's fine, Myne," Motoyasu smiled at the girl. "I'll be back quickly!"

The princess tried to come up with an excuse to tag along, but she stopped before she mumbled on. She slumped back into the couch and sighed.

"Fine, but don't take too long, Sir Motoyasu."

As Aldrecht walked Motoyasu out, he glanced behind him to see what type of expression the first princess had been making and surely enough, it wasn't a very pleasant one.

To be honest, he didn't want that girl to become his enemy, but if he was intending to defeat the Church and protect Aultcray, he wouldn't hesitate to take her down if she stood in the way.

* * *

**)**—**(\**IV**| Chapter 1-08 |**IV**/)|**—**(  
)\\( Allies and Enemies )/(**

* * *

"Damn it!" Itsuki slammed his knuckles into the wall. It hurt like hell, but his anger was too strong for his body to feel the pain. "How could we be taken down so quickly!? How could we let this happen!?"

Ren stood against the wall, a few meters away, glancing down to his stomach. Pulling out the needles hurted, but it didn't look like the needles were deep. He had to grit his teeth and wince as he removed them, but none of his organs seemed to be punctured. Itsuki had it easier; there were only three needles spread across his back and shoulder.

"It's my fault. I let us get baited into that trap." Ren replayed the assassin's quick movements in his head. "I just didn't expect him to end so quick at closing out a fight that hadn't happened for ten seconds yet."

"And here we were close to walking away from it!" Itsuki growled, but he ended up releasing a defeated sigh. "I guess the curiosity got the better of us in this situation."

"And judging from those wounds on your arm, Zellus," Ren glanced over to the knight, standing about near them, "you fought the assassin too."

"Well, I trained my body to resist status ailments more naturally," Zellus playfully answered, looking at his own arm. Ren counted about seven holes in that arm exposed with the unrolled sleeve, yet he looked to be moving fine. "He probably didn't expect my resistance. Though, I think he put up a decent fight. Much better than the normal adventurers around the capital."

"We were recently taken out by an assassination attempt, and all you can think about is your fight with him?" Itsuki asked. "You could at least act more urgently as a knight."

"Have you forgotten who you're talking to?" Most of the thrown needles were stashed in a case on Zellus' belt, but he himself played with a few needles, twirling them around his fingers. He snapped on them, grabbing the rest in his hand. "At the end of the day, you two are still alive. You could at least be thankful for that! Survive today, fight again tomorrow!"

"I suddenly feel bad for whoever has to deal with you normally."

Zellus smiled at Itsuki's sighs as he packed the needles.

"That doesn't matter right now. We can think about Zellus' hierarchy in the knighthood some other day," Ren said. "Right now, I'm more interested in the reason as to why that attack was called on us."

"I'd have to be an idiot not to be curious about that too, Ren."

Zellus glanced over into the sky, seeing a glimpse of the clock tower. "If it matters, the trial should be finishing up about now. His mission was done here anyways, so I think you can connect the dots."

"Then the answer's easy then, if it wasn't already!" Itsuki pounded his palm. "The assassin was trying to prevent us from arriving at Naofumi's trial!"

"... I already knew that." Itsuki looked over to Ren, slightly baffled. "I wasn't referring to the reason that we were attacked. I was thinking about the overall motive. The reason behind the reason, so to speak."

"Well, we can start by thinking about who called the hit," Itsuki recommended. "Obviously, it had to be one of the two names you were thinking about before. Either the Church of Three Heroes or Aldrecht."

"_Aldrecht_?" Zellus raised his brows; his jaw almost dropped. "As in 'the same Aldrecht in the castle' Aldrecht?"

Ren nodded. "He was acting pretty suspiciously during the morning that the party members were distributed. When we mentioned that Naofumi didn't have any party members, he had to fall back and give us an excuse about the situation, pointing it towards the fault of influence from the Church of Three Heroes."

Zellus scratched his head. "Did he now?"

"Though, given the current circumstances, I have to only assume."

"Did you two look into the Church yourself?"

"I did a little digging because of the arrest and what Aldrecht mentioned. From what I can tell, it doesn't look like they are keen on disrespecting the Shield Hero too much, but that might seem like a cover-up. On the off chance that it isn't, the sights immediately turn over to Aldrecht by process of elimination."

"Yeah, I don't think blaming a religion is good if they didn't do anything wrong," Itsuki added. "Maybe there was a chance that Aldrecht thought we were going to simply focus on getting stronger and ignore the lore of the world."

"Ironically, I'm the one who went to investigate." Ren clapped his hand on his forehead.

Itsuki's face became flustered as his foot stomped forwards. "H-Hey! You're the one that told me that we should focus on training!"

"Really now?" Zellus rubbed his chin. It was almost as if he was silently disapproving their current insight. "Have they told you about the extremist side of the Church of Three Heroes?"

Ren wasn't going to lie to himself. He didn't ask many questions to that violet-haired nun and got most of his information by looking around and trying to listen into conversations being held around the library. He knew that if he started to randomly ask about the Church, it would look suspicious. Too many nuns were asking him if he needed help though.

"Though, probably not," Zellus rolled on without Ren giving an answer. "I don't think anyone would talk about the side that they want to hide away from people."

However, this aspect of the Church was new information and it greatly interested Ren. It might not have pushed Aldrecht off the table as a suspect, but it truly darkened the lamp on top of his head for the bigger fish needing to fry.

"Extremist side? That doesn't sound good."

"Tell us a bit more about them."

"Well, what's to say about them? The extremists of the Church of Three Heroes wholefully believe in the original scriptures and the desire to act on them. Since they're the minority, they tend to speak louder with actions to compensate. During my time in service, I had to deal with a few cases myself under Lothringen's command, but their cases have been popping up more ever since the pope approved the changes to the teachings that included the Shield Hero."

"I'd imagine it would be similar to terrorism, trying to send a message."

"What are these cases in particular?"

"None of them were really worth remembering," Zellus hummed as he stuffed his metaphorical hand down the cluttered brain. "I can't tell you what the hell those guys were up to, but if you want, I _can_ tell you about I was able to sever the heads off their—"

"No thanks, I'd rather not." Ren was starting to believe that there was nothing except an opportunistic rambler in that knight. "Let me try another question. Do you know _anything_ _useful _about these extremists?"

"I can tell you that their heads fly off easily. They didn't put up much of a fight, so they're pretty easy to kill if it ever comes down to it."

Ren was about to walk away until Zellus yielded his arms.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Anyways, the extremists might be the ones that you're looking for though." His arms folded back inwards as he spoke like he was telling a story. "Most of them are firm believers that the Shield Hero is a demon, sent alongside the other Cardinal Heroes to disrupt them. That's what the original lessons of the Church of Three Heroes were taught, but they slowly retracted that and started to include the Shield Hero back into their homilies and such."

"Yet there are some people that would refuse to accept that?"

"_Naofumi as a demon_?"

Itsuki shook his head in the background. He literally couldn't imagine it, for it was such a mismatched combination. He tried seeing Naofumi as if he'd put on a devil's halloween outfit, but even that came off as wrong. He even felt the urge to apologize to Naofumi for simply considering that.

"The Church _says_ that they're bad people and they will be dealt with internally, but _our knights _are the ones that end up dealing with them." There was a lot of spite in Zellus' words. "They're not even that hard to deal with; their heads literally pop—"

"Can we stop talking about decapitation?" Ren held his forehead, groaning. He was starting to see why Lothringen referred to him as a 'special' knight. "I'm sure you want to talk about it _so badly_, but there are other things we could be talking about here."

"Anyways," Zellus smirked, "it's completely possible that some of the extremists placed an attack on you since you showed signs of allying yourselves with the Shield Hero, or rather, the Shield Demon. Though, I find that highly unlikely."

"Why's that?"

Zellus looked like he was holding information back and ended up returning Ren with an unsatisfactory answer.

"_Just a feeling_. Need anything more than that?"

"Evidence would be nice, but something tells me we aren't getting any."

"I mean, it's food for thought! You can't just _casually _have a hit called onto two Cardinal Heroes, after all! Especially if it's something small like delaying them to arrive at the trial like you assumed. And what would be the end goal of it all?"

Itsuki's back immediately straightened out as he tugged on Ren's shoulder.

"Wait! I almost forgot because of this entire thing!" Itsuki's voice was loud, almost causing Ren to cover his friend's mouth since he was right beside him. "Was Motoyasu able to get to the trial in time!?"

"The Spear Hero? Yeah, he was definitely there." Zellus rubbed his chin. "Though, he looked much more confused than anything."

"Figures," Ren sighed. "That guy can't think out the obvious things, even if it was an elephant in the room. When a girl is involved, his lust probably does more thinking than his head. If he'd stop for a second and actually understand the case, it would already be clear who he should believe!"

"W-Well, maybe you're undermining him a little, Ren."

Ren held two hands, weighing like scales as he mocked Motoyasu. "_Hmm. A friend I've known for about three years or a beautiful girl that I've met no more than three days ago, but have the potential of banging if I agree with her?_" His hands moved up and down. "_Huh, this is such a tough decision!_"

"I'd like to believe Motoyasu's thought process is a _little_ more complex than that, Ren!" Itsuki pounded his chest. "Let's have a little more faith that Motoyasu will do the right thing here!"

"_Please_." Ren scoffed. "My faith was lost the moment I realized Motoyasu was the only support that Naofumi had in that trial."

"Hey, Motoyasu is a decent person. I know you don't like him a bit, but you have to give him some leeway here."

"Decent person? On _whose _standards?"

"Hang on just a minute." Zellus raised his finger up in the air, scrunching up his eyebrows as he glanced over to Ren. His expression has instantly changed from a whimsical nature to a serious tone. Now that the two thought about it, this was probably the first time Zellus showed such a mood in front of them.

"Sorry, but I think I heard something absurd. _What did you say?_ The Spear Hero and the Shield Hero knew each other for _years_!?"

"Huh? Why would that be absurd?" Itsuki tilted his head. "Though, it is true that we all have known each other for at least two years. That's when Ren and I moved into the room that Naofumi and Motoyasu lived in. We aren't just friends; we're apartment roommates."

"Is there something wrong with that?"

Zellus stayed silent for a moment. "_Well_, that depends. Do you remember what the prophecy of the Cardinal Heroes was?"

Ren recalled what the king said about that, immediately noting what he was trying to imply. Though, he didn't think it was such a big deal that Zellus had to warrant a stern expression.

"Four different heroes from _four different_ worlds," Ren answered. "That's what you're referring to."

"Bingo," Zellus nodded. "So far in history, there doesn't appear to be an incident in which all four Cardinal Heroes knew each other prior to the summoning. Even with joint summons like this, that attribute has been consistent."

"Maybe there was an exception this time. Maybe something went wrong with the summoning, because the book _did _pull all of us in."

"The book…" Ren's thoughts traced back to how they received the book in the first place. "Hey, Zellus? Have any of the methods been revealed in which the heroes came into this world?"

"I guess it's just the general _isekai _stuff," Zellus responded, pondering upwards. "I don't think I've ever heard of specific origins though, probably because the heroes don't need to talk much about how they got here. I'm not much of a historian anyways; I'm only telling you what I've heard from around."

Ren thought he would confirm the existence of the white-haired girl if she had been consistent in any past summonings, but if the origins weren't known, there wasn't much he could base it off from.

"Anyways, I know it might be trivial information, but if I were you two, I'd keep that specific piece of information a secret. There's no telling what might happen, especially considering the incident that just happened here. If the enemies targetted you simply on defending the Shield Hero, you probably don't want to figure out what they would do if they knew that you were all friends already."

"That's a good point."

Itsuki glanced over to Ren. "I guess this means we'll have to be more careful about these types of things."

"Yeah, probably." Ren fell back to his thinking posture. "Though, there are things left unknown. There's definitely a bigger picture that we haven't seen yet and I want to get down to the bottom of it as soon as possible."

"If you want," Zellus stuck his thumb to himself, "I can help out. It doesn't look like it, but I'm pretty good when it comes to investigations. It's just that Lothringen never trusts me with any cases by myself, so I never get a chance to shine!"

"Then how do you know that you're good at them?"

"Don't sweat the small details!"

'_I feel like that's not a small detail, Zellus…_'

"Though, just make sure that if you're going to make any more investigations into the Church of Three Heroes and their extremist side, take extra precaution. You'll have to look into both the overhead and the underground of their organization, because from my past experience, I'm willing to bet that the lines between them aren't so clear."

"Are you suspicious of the Church itself?"

"I'm saying that you two should be. At least, for the time being when nothing is clear yet. This web might be bigger than you think."

Zellus looked as if he was trying to pull necks out from harm's way and through all of this confusion, Ren felt comfortable enough to consider Zellus, in all his whimsical glory, as an ally.

"Hell, if I were you two, I'd leave the investigations to me. If worse comes to worse, I'll just kill everyone, but if you two get caught, I don't think any of this is going to end well. I'll update you two on any new information I can find. I'm not doing anything important anyways, so I might as well pitch in!"

Itsuki froze, speaking as if he was comatose.

"_Hold up, I feel like I just heard something ridiculous_."

Ren ignored it.

"I'll take you up on that offer, but that doesn't mean we're going to stop looking into the problem here." Ren's face scrunched up as he slowly held his stomach. "I only agreed because we need to focus on getting stronger anyways. That masked man might come for us again in the future, whether it's to stop us from interacting with Naofumi or actually killing us."

"Interacting with Naofumi…?"

Itsuki flinched in realization.

"Wait, the trial is over! What are we doing, hanging around here!? We have to find Naofumi quickly! Though, we don't know what happened there to be able to track him down!"

"I'd say the trial was rigged from the start and Naofumi would be left in the prison to rot. That just makes our job easy to find him."

"Actually, not true," Zellus interrupted. "He's still a Cardinal Hero. I don't think the old throne-sitter is dumb enough to shoot himself in the foot by imprisoning the Shield Hero, even _if_ he hated the man's guts. And even if he was found guilty, he would probably be allowed to walk the streets again, only with conditions in place."

"So he's wandering the capital now?" Itsuki frowned. "How are we supposed to find him? This city is huge!"

"Well, Naofumi didn't have his equipment when he was arrested, right?" Ren started to deduce. "If something happened to them, he'll probably be searching for any spare replacements and knowing Naofumi, he'd hate to enter the side of town that he's most unfamiliar with. Meaning that, I got a few ideas on where Naofumi could be."

"Alright! Ren, lead the way!"

Ren turned to Zellus one last time. "I hate owing favours, but I don't think I have much of a choice here."

"That's a weird way of saying thanks!" Zellus grinned as Ren turned back around and started leaving for the main streets.

Once Itsuki followed him without another word, Zellus was then left alone in the clearing.

Zellus gazed up into the skies as his smile became bittersweet.

"I should probably report this to Aldrecht."

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

Naofumi might as well be kicked out the same way that he was sent into his prison cell. The rough pushing and tugging on his body, despite his cooperation, continued outside of Lothringen's foresight until they dropped him out past the drawbridge.

There were a lot of things that he had to debrief himself on, but he was feeling rather quiet about the entire trial. Being accused of sexual assault by his one and only party member should have been painful and he knew he should be feeling betrayed, but in actuality, he just felt shock and surprise by the entire ordeal.

Even though he was split, Motoyasu did try his best to help him out. He knew that if Ren and Itsuki showed up, they would have helped out too. However, that begged the question of where they went.

Perhaps they got held up in something? Naofumi nodded to himself, thinking it was just that.

Though, being left alone after everything made him wonder what he was going to do from now on. Thankfully, he still had his money since he stored it into his inventory, but he couldn't think of a good way to replenish it easily.

There was no way in hell he was going to be able to kill monsters on his own and considering how it's been two days since his arrest, word has probably spread about his apparent deeds. No one would want to party up with him.

Naofumi took a deep breath as he thought about what he should do now.

Of course, clearing his name was on his mind. However, it wouldn't do him much good if he focused all of his efforts onto that one aspect. He needed to get a running foundation to stand on before he could spread out to that objective. And that really did mean that he needed to go through the trivial grinding of monsters, all with his pathetic attack stat.

Naofumi wasn't really looking forward to that.

He could only pray on Ren's strengthening system to make it less painful.

He started to wander the streets of Melromarc, figuring out that he was receiving quite the unsubtle glares from the passersby. Throughout the past two days, news probably spread about his apparent crimes, so people were probably much more weary of him.

He stumbled across Erhart who had been standing out on the streets, as if he was waiting for Naofumi to come by. With a stern and displeased face, the blacksmith had expressed his desire to punch Naofumi for what he had done. Honestly speaking, he really didn't know how hurt he would have been after a strike from a man like Erhart, but Naofumi knew that nothing good would come out of arguing for himself.

That punch never came.

Instead, Erhart offered Naofumi to quickly come into his shop and explained that he didn't think Naofumi was the type of person to perform such a heinous crime, especially thinking about it after hearing that he was arrested. This belief made Naofumi thankful, resulting in Naofumi being given a cheap armourset to wear.

It wasn't much and it was in the bargain bin, but it was enough for now as Naofumi tried to pay for the merchandise. Erhart only accepted a split of the original amount.

"I really appreciate the help, Erhart." Naofumi was excruciatingly and beyond thankful at Erhart's kindness. "Though, are you sure about this? Isn't this going to hurt your business a bit?"

"The fact that you're even asking about that only makes my decision to let these things go even firmer." Erhart smiled behind the counter. "Look, you need all the help you can get right now. This is my end of the bargain as a good samaritan and if you really want to thank me, you can remember this deed for the future where this entire rape accusation blows over someday."

He looked at his equipment. Of course, they weren't as strong as what was stolen, but considering the deal, there wasn't much Naofumi could complain about. "I really do appreciate this, Erhart."

"Don't mention it, lad. I'm sure you would do the same for me if our roles were reversed."

"Now with this out of the way, I should probably get back to my monster hunting," Naofumi said, almost dejectedly. "It's going to take a while for me to get some kills, so I might as well start while the day is still bright out."

"I'm really sorry for your situation, lad." Erhart walked over to some of the displayed weapons, beginning to inspect their current condition. "If I was younger as an adventurer, I probably would have extended my blade to help you out. At least, until you were good enough to be stable."

"Erhart, you were an adventurer?"

"Yep, sure was. Travelled all over the place, but I decided that that type of life wasn't for me." Erhart glanced over to the display shelves in reminisce. "I settled down as a blacksmith many years ago after I found that my interests drew me much closer to this craft. I've been having success in my life ever since."

"I'm happy for you, Erhart. I hope this good karma comes back to help you in the future."

Naofumi took his cloak and wore it, knowing that Erhart gave it to him to help hide his identity to the locals. It might help out with the attention problem, moving from a person that was looked at to someone who could be ignored. It should be able to serve him well enough.

"I should get going now. Once again, thanks."

"Keep thanking and you probably won't have any left for yourself."

As Naofumi walked over to the door and opened it up, there had already been customers waiting outside. Though, they seemed to be quite rude since they had blocked Naofumi's pathing.

"O-Oh, excuse me. I'm trying to get through here."

"Oh, _you don't_. You're coming with both of us."

The familiar voice caused Naofumi to draw his full attention to the person he bumped into. With the sheen of his black hair and serious expression, he knew him immediately to be Ren. Itsuki had been behind him, following in the footsteps.

"Ren? Itsuki!? You're here—_Grah_!"

Ren immediately pushed through and grabbed Naofumi by his back collar, dragging him into the blacksmith without much resistance. Granted, Naofumi couldn't keep up with what was happening to him and was swept off his feet.

"Erhart!" Ren called, almost commandingly. "Mind if we use a backroom!? We need to talk with Naofumi here!"

"W-Wait! R-Ren, I can't…! Breathe properly…!"

"You can breathe once we get an enclosed place to speak."

Erhart watched the Sword Hero pull on the Shield Hero like it was some type of comedy while the remaining companion basically acted like it wasn't happening. Considering his bow and the informal way that the Shield Hero called him, Erhart made the guess that the curly-haired boy was the Bow Hero.

The blacksmith, in his many years of business, had never thought he would encounter quite the scene like this one and such, his mind merely glided along the flow. His arm lifted awkwardly to one of the corridors behind the counter area.

"Y-Yeah… Second room down the ha—"

"Thanks," Ren said, not even waiting for Erhart to finish before passing through his instructions.

"U-Uhm… Sorry about the commotion." Itsuki glanced over to Erhart, briefly waving. "We aren't stirring up any trouble, I hope."

"It's… not that much of a problem."

Itsuki nodded as he went to follow Ren.

With the sound of a door closing shut, it was like a calm storm just ran through his store, but the sense of comradery that Erhart felt between those very brief moments was enough to make him not worry for the Shield Hero. Erhart made a heavy sigh, but it was one of relief.

"You… really do have good friends, lad. Looks like you aren't alone in this world."

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

Ren closed the door and held his back against the surface. The storage room had a few shelves with weapons and random materials as both Naofumi and Itsuki got settled down in the room. Itsuki sat down on one of the tables as Naofumi stood about next to him.

Ren immediately cut right to the chase.

"Okay, spill it. Tell us what happened at the trial."

"Wait, what happened then?" Naofumi glanced at the both of them, concerned shrouding his sight. "If you wanted to know what happened at the trial, why didn't you come? Did something come up?"

Itsuki glanced over to Ren, unsure of what to say. After a brief moment, it appeared as if they were able to communicate their answers to one another.

"I guess you say that."

"We were lying unconscious, out cold on the ground down some alleyways thanks to an assassin. If you can call that as something coming up, then sure. Something came up."

Itsuki immediately grimaced at what Ren said. Surely, he could have worded it better, because Naofumi was starting to freak out the moment he heard his friend.

"S-Seriously!? How!? What!? Are you two alright!?"

"We're standing right in front of you, Naofumi."

Ren moved out of the way and let Itsuki be hit by Naofumi's rush. Itsuki awkwardly held silent during Naofumi's quick body inspection of the young man as Ren sighed. Naofumi then noticed the wounds from the needles and was sent into a panic.

"Y-You're injured!"

"If you consider that an injury," Ren scoffed, "I don't want to know how badly you'd react if one of us gets badly wounded."

"It stung a little, but I think it should be fine now." Itsuki rolled his shoulder, almost making a cracking noise as it spun. "Though, I'll be alive. My health bar is still pretty full and the wound is only presented as a lingering nuisance!"

"Besides, if we weren't alright, I don't think we would have the energy to get here as quickly as we did."

Naofumi wryly began to chuckle, breaking away from Itsuki as he nervously glanced towards Ren.

"I suppose you're right… Sorry for overreacting."

"At least pretend that you have _some_ concern for yourself too." Naofumi could feel the frustrated atmosphere around Ren. "Anyways, never mind that for now. Tell us what happened."

"Y-Yeah, of course."

Naofumi started from when he was arrested. He told them about how he befriended Eclair in the dungeons, the relation between the Shield Hero and the king, how Myne was the one to accuse him of sexual assault, and how Aldrecht was trying to help him as well. All of these things were stuff that Ren wished he was present for, but the circumstances wouldn't let that be easy.

Ren reviewed the information concisely as it was laid out, saving any comments until Naofumi was finished. Even the parts where Motoyasu tried to help him, he kept quiet, but it was difficult when Itsuki wanted to rub it in his face. Though, that didn't improve Ren's perspective of the older friend.

When everything was said and done, Itsuki was speechless at the entire outcome for the trial, but was thankful that it at least ended up somewhat well for them. He completely despised how the king just jumped to conclusions, probably not because of the evidence, but his priority distaste for the Shield Hero.

However, Ren had been silently biting his thumb.

"Some things are clearer now, but that clarity brings up more questions if anything."

"Is something wrong?"

Ren leered over to Naofumi. He debated on even telling Naofumi about the current circumstances, knowing it'll probably be useless for him to know, but considering how he was in the center of it all, he should be at the very least aware.

Ren repeated what they discussed with Zellus.

"—but I can piece together one thing here immediately. Aldrecht might have been telling the truth and he could be trying to look out for us. If he was actively trying to defend your case, then that would mean he would be against the Church of Three Heroes' extremist group."

"I don't see any problems with that. It only means that we can trust Aldrecht like how you two are trusting Zellus."

"_Here's_ the problem that comes now." Ren crossed his arms and frowned, staring off to the wooden floorboards as he spoke. "Aldrecht is the king's retainer and advisor. Ergo, he is the one that the king would listen to the most. If some random knight knew of his distaste for the Shield Hero, then it would come to no surprise that he would try to get the king to _not_ summon the Shield Hero. And yet, he still did, atoning to the recommendation of the Church."

"Maybe the king's dislike for my role," Naofumi pondered, "contributed more to his decision. An advisor can try to advise as much as they want, but at the end of the day, it's still a recommendation."

"Wait, I'm lost," Itsuki said. "Why would that specific detail be important here? Aren't we still dealing with the extremist side of things? Zellus only said that we should only be careful."

"It's because Aldrecht specifically mentioned the Church of Three Heroes itself and not the extremist side," Ren answered. "If he wanted it to be clearer, he would have said so and I would hate to think that Zellus is a better communicator than the king's right hand."

"So our enemy is the Church of Three Heroes for certain or at least, a sect of it?" Itsuki asked.

Naofumi raised his hand. "Actually, that leaves a thought. If the king was collaborating with the Church like Eclair mentioned to me, wouldn't that make the king a part of the plan of my trial?"

"And _that_'s where the sticky stuff comes into play." Ren bit down on his teeth, clanking a clear sound. "If we're against the Church _and_ the king, then things don't look good for Naofumi, and to an extent, for us either. For all we know, the entire trial could have been rigged and scripted with the only variable to control being Motoyasu and you, Naofumi. We were taken out to limit the variables."

Itsuki nodded. "You did say that the king cutted the trial earlier than it was supposed to."

"T-That seems like a _lot _of work to condemn me! Especially when I'm still allowed to walk free!"

"Religion's a bitch and it'll definitely go the distance if needed," Ren scoffed. "Especially when it's into blind discrimination for a Shield Demon."

"_Damn_." Itsuki held his arm tightly through that heavy word. "Who are we even trying to fight for here? No, I shouldn't think about it like that. A king is not a good representative of the land's people, nor is a religion. Though, to believe that a 'wise' king would let something clearly unjustified through."

"I-I am a bit frustrated about that too…" Naofumi wryly croaked, very appreciative of his friend's apparent support. "Though, I wouldn't say I'm too—"

"It makes sense if the king was part of the conspiracy." Ren thought aloud, interrupting Naofumi's sentence unintentionally. "If the church doesn't have the king, then they lose the security of their desired results. There's no thinking how it would have played out if the king genuinely wanted to believe in Naofumi."

"Likewise," he continued, "if the king doesn't have the church, then he lacks the loyal manpower to dig a grave for the Shield Hero. Hopefully, the system doesn't seem corrupted to the point where the knights would blindly listen to the orders to take down one of the Cardinal Heroes if someone like Lothringen is their captain."

Itsuki's hand closed in even tighter as he grunted. "Let's not forget about Myne, the girl that went and betrayed Naofumi; she's the rolling stone in their plan. I hope she's satisfied with herself because winning that trial is the only satisfying thing she's going to get out of this. I won't that _bitch _get away with such an injustice against my friend."

"And to think Motoyasu just stayed there by her side too," Ren shook his head in disapproval of the missing friend in the room. "That idiot really can't think correctly when there's a girl. He doesn't even realize that Naofumi accepting a drink from _anymore_ is out of character for him. Even if he helped your case a little, it still sounded like he had some faith in Myne."

"M-Maybe their fault…" As Naofumi stammered, both Ren and Itsuki narrowed their scuntizing eyes at him. "Look, we don't know the entire circumstances here. For all we know, Myne could have been forced to lie against me and Motoyasu was just trying to be a good person. Well, Motoyasu _was_ trying to be a good person; I know him enough to see that."

"Then we'll just have to find the evidence for that," Ren said. His head rolled back onto the door. "Find out the reasons and connections that Myne has to this situation. As a sidequest, knock some sense into our resident skirt-chaser."

"Actually…" Naofumi felt wrong as he spoke, but it was what had been on his mind.

"What is it?"

"I think we should... _hold off _on that investigation."

Both Ren and Itsuki were taken speechless, silently glaring upon the suggestion.

"You said that Zellus was already looking into matters, right? Then that makes our jobs easier to do." Naofumi tapped on his shield as he spoke. "Besides, I'm not in a great place to be, so I should be starting on getting power for myself before I get to do anything unnecessary."

Ren frowned, furrowing his brows. "Did you just call a counter-investigation unnecessary?" Ren's hands clenched into a fist. "The type of investigation that is looking to prove your _innocence_?"

"I'm finding it unnecessary to act against Myne and Motoyasu here," Naofumi explained. "We know generally who the enemies are and considering their positions, I don't think they're going anywhere anytime soon. And it's not like I'm completely damned from this scenario. Worse comes to worse, I can just wait it out and have Zellus help in the shadows. There's no need for you two to do much for me."

"That's blatant injustice, Naofumi! You're just letting the Church and the king do whatever they want!" Itsuki's voice was almost pleading in a way. "And the first steps of anything is to take care of the catalyst here, the person that accused you!"

"I have faith that Myne didn't want to do it anyways," Naofumi wryly smiled. "She looked like she was in pain as she spoke against me."

"She could be a good liar!? _Hello_!?"

Itsuki was astounded that Naofumi was thinking like this.

"Are you telling us _not_ to do anything here!?"

"Again, I just find it unnecessary," Naofumi claimed, waving his hands. "It's wholefully better for me to dedicate to what I _can_ do rather than what would be nice."

Ren's lowly growl sliced through the atmosphere of the room. Both Naofumi and Itsuki looked over, immediately seeing a darkened mood in his expression. He wasn't raising his voice, but they could tell that he was _beyond_ pissed.

"_How naive_."

"W-What?"

"How naive do you have to be, Naofumi? Are you saying that you're going to push this problem away?"

"I have to! If I dedicate all my resources into finding this investigation, then there's no way I'll be able to survive by myself! I only have a limited amount of money left and killing monsters is very inefficient for me! I can't slash them a few times and get the materials and experience!"

"What? Did you really think you were going to do this by yourself?" Itsuki almost looked offended by his assumption. "We're here to help you. Once we explain the situation to Motoyasu, even he will come around to help out too! We're all friends, right?"

"... I can't let you do that."

Naofumi's face turned away from his friend.

"Sorry, but this is something that you can leave alone. I don't want you guys to get involved with me. You guys were attacked by that assassin because of your relations with me, right? You're better off laying low and playing it safe. There won't be any hard feelings from me."

"B-But…!"

Itsuki stammered for his own response before Naofumi continued.

"Besides, I'm perceived as a criminal now, regardless of what anyone says. You two are still heroes and I don't want to drag your reputations now."

Itsuki looked as if he had more to say, but the moment Naofumi ended his argument, Itsuki couldn't find the words anymore. He backed off, grimacing and almost whispering to himself.

Naofumi smiled to try and cheer Itsuki up.

"Don't worry! I'll be fine! You guys just worry about yourselves for now. I'll manage by myself somehow."

"_You're kidding me_, right?"

Naofumi turned over to see Ren glaring at him, daggers pointed and aimed to pierce his defense. His body posture held itself firm and steady, but it felt like it could have lunged at any possible moment.

"I knew you were naive, but I honestly can't believe that you're so optimistic that everything will work out in the end. Naofumi, you were basically condemned for a crime you didn't do and found out that practically the important forces of this capital are against you. The odds are stacked against you."

"Well, I could always—!"

"_Stop it, Naofumi! Just stop it!_"

Ren shouted. Naofumi froze.

"_How could you still think you can help yourself out of it!?_"

Ren snarled. Naofumi shivered.

He remembered what Itsuki told him before about people meeting Ren for the first time and that odd feeling that strangers always have. He claimed to have never felt it before, but if this was what it felt like, Naofumi didn't want to feel such a way from his friend again.

Even Itsuki had been taken aback.

"And by doing what!? I bet you don't even know!"

His shouts were starting to escalate loudly as Naofumi started to feel the flames being charred in Ren's voice. Ren walked up towards Naofumi; his cheeks were strained by his shouting.

"Keeping up an upbeat attitude isn't going to magically make this problem go away, Naofumi! Optimism has it damn limits until you have to do the shit that's necessary! You're acting like reality will eventually bend over for you!"

"T-That may be true for now, but I was trying to reason—"

"_Bullshit_! There's nothing reasonable about not knowing where the hell you should start! There's nothing reasonable about pushing away the resources that literally walked into your hands!"

Ren threw up his hand and caught Naofumi's collar, pulling him closer. Naofumi could see Ren's blue pupils being twisted by a miraged bloodshot image.

"_Listen here, idiot, if it wasn't too obvious for Mister Sunshine-and-Rainbows here_. I couldn't give a damn in the world if you want to let this slide, but you're half-assing this with a self-destructive attitude, Naofumi. People are forcing things onto you that you don't want, things that you _know_ you don't like, and you're still accepting this shit even though you don't want it, twiddling your damn thumbs around like a damn preschooler!"

Naofumi could feel Ren's every breath heating up against his face.

"Let me tell you a hint. This _isn't _something that's going to blow over quickly. This _isn't_ something you can wish away on a shooting star. _This_ is a situation that could end up killing you—_killing all of us, maybe_! How could you be so mellow about this!?"

Naofumi didn't know how to react to Ren's sudden explosiveness.

"It… I-It's not…"

"Both you _and_ Motoyasu!"

Naofumi's ears twitched as Ren brought up their friend's name in the fit of anger.

"I swear, if I had been at that trial, it would have gone down differently! It sounded like you gave up the moment the accusations started flying to you! Motoyasu gave up the moment Myne started going off with her emotions! The man doesn't even know how to separate his logic, emotions, and lust! Throw a picture of Myne into a paper bag alongside him and see if he's able to escape from it!"

"Insult as much as you want, Ren! I draw the line when you start insulting Motoyasu like that!" Naofumi grabbed Ren's wrist. "He's still our friend!"

"Then where is he? If he's such a good friend, then he should be here. He should have been at your side when you kicked out of the castle. And yet, he's not."

As Naofumi's grip got tighter, so did Ren's.

"Tell me where the hell he is, Naofumi!"

Naofumi clicked his tongue, shaking away from Ren's intense stare.

"T-The… Probably the castle…"

"He's probably kissing himself up to Myne as we speak! That _idiot _can't even consider the fact that you wouldn't do _anything_ close to this and he ended up weighting a three year friendship on the same scale as a girl he met a few days ago and for at most an hour or two!"

"I still consider him a friend, Ren! He was up against evidence, so I couldn't blame him!"

"Evidence that was literally poked out by Aldrecht, and Motoyasu _himself_, which he managed to somehow backtrack on! Like how dumb do you have to be to _do that!?_"

"And all I really need to do is talk to him for a bit and everything between us will get sorted out!"

Ren flicked his arm away, pulling from Naofumi's hand. He held his hand on his forehead, completely at a loss for the situation in front of him.

"And there it is again. Optimism is coming once again to save the day! How could you ever function without the damn thing!?"

"This isn't about optimism; I'm only believing in my friend!"

"He's likely with _Myne_ right now! How many times do I have to tell you!? She has all the time in the world to feed him more lies and manipulate that simpleton! Have you thought about that!?"

"H-He wouldn't…"

Naofumi's chest felt tight as Ren ranted on against him. He really just wanted this entire thing to get dropped since it was getting increasingly harder to breathe in Ren's presence, as much as he hated to think that. However, this was probably the first time he'd ever seen Ren get so pissed off before that he couldn't really think straight anymore.

"Naofumi, you're completely unbelievable! You're such a—!"

"Ren, stop it!"

Itsuki found the strength to step in between his friends, facing away from Naofumi and focusing his attention on Ren. Itsuki was frowning, even shaking, but he knew he hated seeing this scene before his eyes.

"What's gotten into you, Ren? Is it so wrong for Naofumi to have _some_ belief? If he says he'll act eventually, but not now, then we'll have to trust his word on it."

Ren's hand crumpled into a fist.

"You _know_ why I'm like this."

Itsuki grimaced, knowing what Ren was referring to, but even so, he couldn't let Naofumi be completely slaughtered by Ren. Naofumi looked desperately confused and scared.

"Leave the matter alone, Ren. I'll make sure that once Naofumi is ready, justice will be served."

Ren stayed silent, releasing only a scoff alongside a sickened expression. His brows furrowed downwards further than usual and the corners of his lips had quivering. Itsuki was sure that Ren hated this as much as any of them, but only he had to gall to confront it head on.

"_Whatever. _Do whatever you want, Naofumi." Ren made a single, lonely sigh. "I don't care anymore."

He walked towards the door and held the knob.

"R-Ren? Where are you going?"

"Anywhere except for here. I don't want to be wasting my energy on a thick-skulled idiot that can't even understand the severity of the situation that they're in."

Ren opened the door and took a single step out.

"Let me tell you one more thing though."

Before he left, he glared with the corners of his eyes at Naofumi.

"_Stop thinking so selflessly. You could at least be more damn considerate to yourself._"

He continued onwards and slammed the door loudly, leaving Itsuki and Naofumi silent in Erhart's backroom. Naofumi could hear the concerned voice of Erhart outside in the main shop, but it seemed like Ren had simply dismissed his words and immediately exited the blacksmith.

Naofumi felt his legs be weakened as he collapsed on a nearby stool. His body felt too cold for weather like this, but something akin to a storm did just leave the room. He had only wished he understood the reasoning for that storm.

He never would have imagined Ren raising his voice like that and for so long.

Considering what he knew about Ren, that had to be built up and once it overflowed, he simply exploded at the last straw.

"Naofumi, don't worry about Ren right now."

Itsuki patted Naofumi's shoulder in his attempt to reassure the troubled friend.

"How could I _not _worry? I'm afraid that Ren might do something rash now…"

Itsuki's hand rested down as he listened to Naofumi. In a way, he knew that Naofumi was someone who cared greatly about them and that he would neglect his own condition for them. On the other hand, he simply couldn't believe that after all that yelling, Naofumi still didn't understand the message of Ren's anger even if he heard his words clearly.

"J-Just keep your mind on yourself for now. Ren's not as calm and collected as you might think, but he has a lot of things going on that he doesn't like to tell anyone." Itsuki glanced at the door. "I know him enough that he isn't going to do anything stupid, even when his head's heated right now."

"B-But…"

"Look, let's just change the subject now."

Itsuki glanced at Naofumi, holding his shield.

"I heard you learnt a strengthening method from Ren. I should probably tell you that there's another one to the holy weapons."

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 018 : Mysterious Knowledge**

[Itsuki] : "It's a good thing that you know how to track people down like this, Ren! All we can do is hope that Naofumi is at Erhart's store like you said. We can worry about the complexity of the summoning ritual later. Hell, I don't even think we need to know about that for now."

[Ren] : "Yeah, you're right. I just…"

[Itsuki] : "Did something catch your attention?"

[Ren] : "I'm wondering why our summoning was the only known joint summoning in the history of this world, as far as Zellus is concerned. It feels a bit strange and I can't help to think about that oddity."

[Itsuki] : "I really don't think it's anything _that_ important, Ren."

[Ren] : "It's a real shame that none of the past heroes ever talked about how they were summoned to this world. Though, we might be able to discover it down the line since Zellus did say he wasn't interested in that type of stuff."

[Itsuki] : "Well, I guess there's only the standard _isekai_ methods that I could think of. I mean, we were summoned to Melromarc using one of the standard ways, being summoned by a mysterious book. I wouldn't doubt it if the past heroes were taken by other means like getting hit by a truck or being stabbed by a random serial killer."

[Ren] : "Yeah, I suppose you're right. If only Zellus had more information on that than simply a guess—"

[Ren] : "..."

[Itsuki] : "Huh? Ren? Why did you stop?"

[Ren] : "_Zellus_ was the one to use the word '_isekai_'."

[Itsuki] : "Yeah? And? Is there something wrong with that? Don't forget we have an auto-translator on, so it might have just automatically swapped in the term since it's familiar to us."

[Ren] : "... Right. Forget I said anything."

[Ren] : '_But why would the translator switch it to the word 'isekai' when 'other world' is already a sufficient translation? And it was even used in the correct context..._'

[Ren] : '_Am I… just overthinking this?_'

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 019 : New Method**

[Naofumi] : "..."

[Itsuki] : "And when you use that energy to your own stats, they are permanent and guaranteed."

[Naofumi] : "..."

[Itsuki] : "... Naofumi, you aren't listening are you?"

[Naofumi] : "... I-I'm sorry, what was that?"

[Itsuki] : "Were you seriously not listening to the new strengthening method? If you focus your energy pool into your attack job level, I think you'll have a good shot at dealing with monsters more effectively by yourself. Even if it's just an extra attack point or two, that's already making double or triple your progress."

[Naofumi] : "... E-Energy? As in, like… Ren's strengthening method?"

[Itsuki] : "When did you zone out?"

[Naofumi] : "When did Ren leave again?"

[Itsuki] : "... I'll start over."

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 020 : One More Introduction**

[Erhart] : "Hey, lad! What the hell happened there!? Your friend stomped off from the room! I honestly thought he was going to flip the entire shop upside down with that expression on his face!"

[Itsuki] : "It's fine. There was just a small argument back there."

[Naofumi] : "Itsuki said it was nothing to worry about."

[Erhart] : "... If it's under control, then I guess I'll have to drop the subject. It's not as if your friend _actually_ flipped my store upside down."

[Itsuki] : "You were the blacksmith that was helping out the Sword Hero and the Shield Hero the other day? I should thank you for assisting my friends. My name's Itsuki Kawasumi and I'm the Bow Hero. It's nice to meet you, Erhart."

[Erhart] : "It's a pleasure, but to think that I'd have three of the four Cardinal Heroes as my customers. It isn't any ordinary week for me, that's for sure!"

[Naofumi] : "That would probably drive up your sales better than ever!"

[Erhart] : "Certainly, it would!"

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**


	11. Chapter 1-10 : Lurk Behind Intentions

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

"My deepest apologies, Spear Hero. I hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long."

After the tea was brewed, Aldrecht walked to his desk with a teapot and two cups on a tray, resting it down softly. He set aside a cup for Motoyasu as he sat on the other side.

"Usually, I would already have this prepared before I call a meeting with someone, but since time is of the essence, measures had to be made. Though, I couldn't ever imagine having a one-to-one meeting without some soothing tea to help straighten the mind. Please, Spear Hero. Have some. It's my own special brew."

"T-Thanks."

Motoyasu carefully held the cup as Aldrecht poured it in for him.

The light green colour had shimmered as it drained itself into Motoyasu's hands and he felt the subtle warmth, even through the china-like material. He hadn't been a professional at tea tasting, so every other herb scent had been the same as the next in his perspective, but even he could smell that it was pleasant, almost as if it was trying to lure him into its trap—effectively, might he added.

He pulled it close to his mouth as its heat had already been reaching his lips. It was definitely freshly brewed within the last few minutes, but Motoyasu couldn't really define it for sure. It only felt like that as he slowly took a sip before releasing himself so that he wouldn't scald his tongue.

However, the heat itself was quite unexpected. Motoyasu had fumbled his hands as his lips pounced on the cup's ring and just as quickly, it escaped. He spilled a bit on his clothing, but thankfully none on the desk and papers.

"I-It has a really nice taste to it!"

"I'm glad you enjoy it, Spear Hero," Aldrecht placed the teapot back onto the desk and sat himself on the other side, opposing Motoyasu.

His expression went from a soft grandfather to a stern businessman in a matter of seconds, making Motoyasu uneasy on how fast that switch was. Though, he appreciated that Aldrecht was taking this seriously. He guessed he should try and get down to business as well.

"Okay, Aldrecht. I would like to see the evidence for Naofumi's case."

"Before that, there was something I was meaning to speak to you in private. That was one of the reasons I requested you to come here." Aldrecht grasped his hands together, hiding his chin behind it. "I want to ask you a question. Imagine that the trial did not hold any pretenses. Forget that you've talked with the Shield Hero and the princess for these past few days and think about your instinctive thoughts. What is that voice telling you?"

Aldrecht took his hand over his own tea and began sipping, awaiting Motoyasu's response.

"That's a bit hard to answer…" Motoyasu looked at the tea's surface. "I know that Myne wouldn't lie, but I've known Naofumi for about _three _years now. I can't just forget about those with a snap of a finger. That's why I want to see the evidence for myself."

"What?"

The old man had immediately dropped his tea cup, accidentally spilling some of the contents onto his table which spread towards his papers. Motoyasu was taken back from the sudden sequence, immediately standing up. Aldrecht's hand had been shaking as he carefully guided it back over to his cup.

"Aldrecht, what happened!? Did I say something wrong!?" Motoyasu began to sprawl the room with his eyes, darting his head to look for towels. "Your papers! U-Uh, let me find paper towels somewhere! Those have to exist in this world, right!? Oh, towels exist! We can find those!"

"N-No, it is fine, Spear Hero. I was… merely surprised, that's all." He tried his best to keep up his smile, but it was clear that the unexpected news had taken his mind. "I… never would have thought those words would come out in such circumstances."

"Circumstances?"

"Do you remember the prophecies of the Cardinal Heroes?"

Motoyasu pondered the thought, as he traced back the recent memory. He had merely told Aldrecht about their background, the fact that Naofumi was basically a friend of his. Motoyasu couldn't find out what was weird about that.

However, if he had to make a guess, it would probably have to be the inverse of what he said.

"Were we supposed to be strangers?"

"The prophecies told us that we would summon four heroes, each from a different world."

Actually, Motoyasu remembered the king saying something like that on their first day.

As Aldrecht cleared his throat, he quickly recollected himself as he leered at the spilt tea. He gently pointed towards it and lightly pulled it back. In its trail, the liquid had started to follow with Aldrecht's finger as it was magically being brought back towards the teacup. There had been some residues, but the main mess had been gone.

Motoyasu saw how careful Aldrecht was with the water and admired how much control he had with it. He wondered if he would use magic like how the old mage could, or to a further extent, to how Lothringen could use it back in the throne room.

Aldrecht pulled out a spare towel from his desk's drawer that was rolled up in a cylinder as he continued speaking.

"In any case, that… actually makes things much easier for me." Aldrecht started to clean off the remaining residue of the spilt tea and set the used towel aside. "Knowing that you truly want to believe in the Shield Hero, I want to involve you in my plans."

Aldrecht sighed. "I say that, but really, I don't have anything in mind yet. Planning was never my strong suit; that wondrous ability belongs to the king. Instead, what I ask is your cooperation and your weariness."

"I don't really get what you're trying to say." Motoyasu slumped down on the chair. "Is there something going on that us heroes don't know about yet?"

"I wholefully believe that the Shield Hero was framed for his crime by the Church of Three Heroes."

Motoyasu flinched. His mind immediately trailed back to the image of the two nuns he had met during his first day outside the castle, but he also remembered the pretensed explanation for Naofumi's lack of party members.

"Is that really true? I met some nuns from the congregation already and they don't seem to be very spiteful towards the Shield Hero, much less to the point where they would want to frame him as a criminal."

Of course, the Spear Hero would question it if he went to see what the surface had to offer. Aldrecht did not want to lose the Spear Hero to the enemy by telling him to blindly distrust them, but he needed to make sure that he stayed as far away from their influence as possible.

A white lie _that wasn't also a lie _might do just the thing.

"I do not mean that the _entire_ organization is guilty. I sincerely believe that there are good people there, but the person I do not trust is the pope himself. With his great influence, I gravely fear that he might be the one to conduct the crime and paint your friend as the culprit."

"The pope himself? That sounds a little bit ridiculous, don't you think?"

"I suppose an outsider from our relation wouldn't understand the concept."

Aldrecht stood up from his chair and walked towards the bookshelf next to the blackboard.

"Indeed, a pope must present himself to be peaceful, wise, and loving. However, he has done terrible things in the past that go unnoticed. He was once an ally, but has ironically strayed away from the light."

Aldrecht pulled a book and the blackboard flipped around to show the map of the capital. Motoyasu was surprised at the action, coming straight out of a spy movie.

"Long ago, there was a war against a country named Siltvelt. We fought on the same side to keep our lives and freedom intact from their lust for world domination and in the midst of that warfare, an ancient relic was modified and refurbished."

"And that was the supposed _Replica_ that was supposed to be destroyed by the peace treaty, wasn't it?"

Remembering what was mentioned in the guild hall with Itsuki's party member, Motoyasu predicted where this story might have been going, causing Aldrecht to be pleasantly surprised that the spear Hero was quite informed. In fact, this type of person would be beneficial on his side.

"That's… correct. On paper, it should have been destroyed. You've heard about it?"

"From a party member in Itsuki's group. We noticed you walking into the guild hall and the conversation came up."

"If you were there, you could have given me some salutations. I would have loved to see the progress you've made in your first day."

"We didn't want to bother you. You looked a bit busy."

"Digressions aside, there is a hidden truth underneath that piece of history."

Aldrecht glanced at the map that was drawn on, causing Motoyasu to hone in on that. Now that he thought about it, it kinda looked like one of those scavenger hunts maps, with the crosses, arrows and circles.

"The _Replica_ was not destroyed. We were made to believe that it was taken apart and we were deceived by the man who stole it, Biscas Balmus or otherwise known as the Pope of the Church. I have a few agents to try and lockdown where it might be, but we haven't found progress."

"Then how do you know that it still exists?"

"An ally saw it with his own two eyes, someone that didn't even know it was the _Replica_ until he was told. And we were attacked for knowing that knowledge, which might have been a severe mistake in acknowledging its existence on their end. Of course, there are other nuisances, but none of these could be accepted by the king or Sir Lothringen as valid evidence. Neither of them know, nor is this public knowledge."

"I remember the guy saying it was a weapon of calamity."

"It was indeed and I fear that once it gathers enough power, it could be used as a leverage against my friend, the king. I don't want that to happen."

"Wait, but… what does this have to do with Naofumi and his trial?" Motoyasu scratched his head. "What does this have to do with any of us? I'm a bit confused here."

Aldrecht turned back to face the young man. "To be precise, I'm not quite sure, but you are to be eventually involved with his schemes, if not now. The Pope was the one to suggest your summoning, after all. The king is merely the one who took it into… _consideration_ and concluded it was a good idea. I'd be a fool to not be skeptical of that."

"I'm still unsure as to what you want me to do here. I feel like you've been talking a bit in circles, Aldrecht. Not to be rude or anything."

"No, that's a valid argument." Aldrecht walked over to disengage the hidden map back into the original position as Aldrecht walked back to the desk. "The king always told me that I mindlessly speak sometimes."

"Oh, kinda like Zellus?"

Aldrecht instinctively irked at the comparison.

"N-Never mind that. If you want to know what you should do, I want you to be on standby until I reach out for you again and stay clear from the Church if you can." Aldrecht sat back down on his chair and started shuffling through some of the papers on the desk. A folder with the trial's evidence was pulled out. "I apologize if this seems to sound like a forced deal, but I cannot allow you to see these files without your agreement."

"It's fine. You're doing this for your friend, right?" Motoyasu smiled lightly. "The way you talk about the king makes it sound like you two are old buddies and I can see that you're just trying to look out for him."

"So we have an agreement?"

"I'll help you out as much as I can, Aldrecht. I can't refuse someone that's only trying to help a good friend of his!"

Aldrecht chuckled at Motoyasu's claim. "Is that so? I'm glad that you're so considerate, Spear Hero." He lifted the folder into the air and held it before Motoyasu. "In that case, please feel free to read these documents and tell me what you think about the evidence."

"Thanks, Aldrecht. I—"

Before Aldrecht could hand it off properly, the door slammed open with a kick, causing Motoyasu to jump in his seat. He turned around quickly to see who had been the one to make the ruckus, but he was surprised to see the familiar face.

"Z-Zellus?"

"Huh? The Spear Hero's here? Well, that makes things easier, I guess."

Zellus strolled into the room after closing the door behind him as he walked up to the desk, standing next to Motoyasu. His attention wasn't provided towards the guest and looked like he had something important to say. He had a serious expression after all.

"Did you find the whereabouts of the Sword Hero and the Bow Hero?"

Motoyasu's heart lightened, knowing that he and Naofumi weren't the only ones concerned about the only ones worried that Ren and Itsuki didn't show up. "That's the reason you left the trial?"

After making a quick nodding gesture to Motoyasu, he turned back to Aldrecht. "Yeah, I found where they were and the assumption right. They were forcefully contained and rendered unconscious for the duration of the trial. I think it's linked to the Church of Three Heroes from what I gathered."

Aldrecht flinched. "Is that right?"

"Wait, they attacked my friends!? How the hell could they do that!?"

Aldrecht pulled down the folder, considering the interpretation of the actions. He suspected that the Cardinal Heroes weren't simply blabbering around that they were all originally friends to everybody they've met, but if he assumed that, there wasn't any reason to automatically consider them as threats to the trial that they had to be removed.

"If it helps," Zellus said, "they were present when the Shield Hero was being arrested and being quite vocal about it."

The old mage rubbed his beard. "... Yes, that would explain it."

"Huh? Explain what!?" Motoyasu looked back and forth, feeling left out of the conversation. "What's going on here!?"

"I'm sorry to do this, Spear Hero. I'll need to apply one more condition and it is a critical one if my assumptions are correct; it is better to play safe than sorry." Aldrecht held the folder out of Motoyasu's reach as he confusingly gazed at him. "For your own safety, you cannot interact with the other Cardinal Heroes, especially the Shield Hero."

"H-Huh!?"

Motoyasu was taken aback from the sudden condition. His jaw dropped down as his mind started to immediately reject the idea.

"I know that they are your friends, Spear Hero." As Aldrecht spoke, Motoyasu started to calm down, seeing that he was making a sorrowful expression. It was clear that Aldrecht didn't want to separate the friends either, probably out of his own friendship with the king. "However, it looks like you're the only one on somewhat good terms with the Church. You at least need to keep face and not let them suspect you."

"Didn't you say to avoid the Church as much as possible!?"

"That will still apply. Do not approach them and reject any unneeded interactions unless you cannot reject it without losing reputation." The sorrowful expression resoluted before him. "We _need_ to keep you safe, Spear Hero. Until we can approach the ending battle against the Pope."

Motoyasu hesitated.

Even without needing to see the evidence, it was almost as if they simply wanted to approach him to make the deal in allying himself with them. Without the conditions, it sounded like a perfect thing to do, but to avoid his friends had been a difficult thing to request, especially how he ended things off with Naofumi.

Hell, he hadn't even seen Ren since the first day they left the castle and he really wanted to know how his moody friend was doing. He was probably doing fine, but Motoyasu just wanted to know.

And yet, he too was somewhat anxious about what the Pope might have been thinking behind the curtains. Talking to his friends would indeed paint a target on his forehead.

"... Fine, I'll agree to those terms."

He really didn't want to though, but there probably wasn't any better choice.

If he could help out Aldrecht as soon as possible, then the Pope would go down quickly as well. When that happens, he'll be free to clear up everything with his friends, especially if Aldrecht is there to help ease things and mend them back to how it should be.

"I'm sorry it had to come to that, Spear Hero."

"It's fine. You'll clear things up with my friends after all of this is finished, right?"

Aldrecht handed Motoyasu the files as he took it into his hands.

"Of course. I don't want to be the reason to break a nice friendship."

* * *

**)**—**(\**IV**| Chapter 1-10 |**IV**/)|**—**(  
)\\( Lurk Behind Intentions )/(**

* * *

Naofumi sighed.

He would be lying if the past week hadn't been tough. Being by himself hadn't been something that was enjoyable, to say the very least. Punching balloons to death had been even less enjoyable, but these were things that he had to deal with for now. He mentioned to Itsuki that he was going to put up with the mediocre lifestyle for now until he can find some footing, but he didn't actually realize they were so mind-numbingly boring.

If he couldn't kill monsters, then he couldn't level up.

If he can't level up, he can't get stronger.

If he can't get stronger, then he couldn't kill monsters.

It was a relentless cycle that he couldn't escape, all by the means that he was stuck with the shield as his primary weapon. On the bright side, the balloons still didn't hurt, but if Naofumi couldn't get his levels, he wouldn't be able to participate in the waves on the same playing field as Ren, Moyotasu, and Itsuki.

As he walked down the paths within the field, seeing the capital's outer walls in the distance, he opened up his menu to review the weapons he had collected and obtained. Specifically, he wanted to look at the methods once again to get them in his mind.

Itsuki had told him about a new strengthening method that had caught his eye; if he transferred dropped materials into energy, he would be able to raise his attack job level and it was pretty lucky that it was the same pool as Ren's strengthening method.

However, it was taking a _while_ to get anything of worth into that energy pool.

**[Naofumi Iwatani]  
Class : Shield Hero LV3**

**[Job Levels]  
Attack LV1 2/5  
Magic LV1 0/5  
Defense LV1 0/5  
(...)**

On the bright side, he'll be able to double his output by the time the next week rolls around, as sad as it might sound. Though, that's only considering if he stuffs every single thing he gets his hands on into energy, which probably isn't a good time if he wanted money.

Naofumi sighed again, walking back towards the entrance gates of the capital.

There were a few knights standing guard, off doing their job and making sure no dangerous threats enter or exit the perimeter. Naofumi felt uneasy, seeing that they were openly sneering at the Shield Hero as he walked back into the capital.

He completely forgot to throw on his hood, but he guess it was too late for that. He wasn't used to the entire thing yet, so the hood was very hit-or-miss. Nevertheless, he tucked himself underneath it.

He was starting to get a little self-conscious about it.

Naofumi, not changing his walking pace, carefully went past the knights as they let him through without another word.

"Hey, Shield Hero."

There was a sudden voice that called out for him from the other side of the gate, confusing Naofumi as to who would be calling out for him. He wandered his eyes, noticing a dark blonde haired woman lacklusterly waving her hand from her crossed arms.

Her reddish armour appeared tight, but the skin of her shoulder blades to her wrist had been exposed. A single long bang had hung before and between her eyes and reached down to her chin level as it tucked a red headband underneath. A single spear had reached out from her back.

"Over here."

Naofumi blinked and looked around before pointing to himself. "W-Wait, did you mean me?"

"Well, there's only one Shield Hero I see around here," she answered sternly. "You must be the one I'm referring to, by process of elimination."

As Naofumi approached the woman, he started to wonder if he had seen her before. She was quite familiar and Naofumi felt like he could have seen her from the corner of his eyes once or twice. However, Naofumi hadn't been too concerned.

The last time someone asked to see him, they almost threw a punch at him. Since this was probably a stranger, he couldn't guess what could happen this time, unlike Erhart's interaction.

"I-Is there something you want from me?"

"I come with a message from Sir Itsuki."

That's where Naofumi had vaguely recognized her—the throne room on their first day out. She had been one of the party members that were assigned to help out the Cardinal Heroes and by her words, specifying to help out Itsuki. Naofumi's fears had immediately dropped upon hearing her news.

Though, this would be the first time he's heard from any of his friends ever since the trial day.

He hasn't even seen Motoyasu once ever since he departed from the throne room at all, but Ren looked as if he was avoiding Naofumi for a while, especially after how he acted in Erhart's store. He was thankful that Itsuki seemed to want to keep in touch with him.

"He wishes to meet up with you for a private discussion. He hasn't told me what the topic would be about, but he mentioned that you would be able to guess what it had been. The location has been set within the alleyway around the Sunset Inn located near the east gate. The meeting will approximately take place in an hour and Sir Itsuki refuses to have to reject the offer. He told me that if you are to refuse, that I should bring you there by force."

Naofumi wryly chuckled at the given message. "D-Don't worry, you don't need to force me to come. I'll be there and I can probably get there by myself."

"Is that so?" The woman turned around and started to walk away, now that her job was finished. "Then allow me to take my departure, Shield Hero. I will update Sir Itsuki on the decision and he will be expecting you."

As the woman walked past, the knights that were on the inner side of the gate had straightened their backs, as if they were afraid of the adventurer for some reason.

Naofumi assumed that she must have had a reputation with the guild hall, so much that the knights had heard of her skill and deeds. She didn't even flinch or bother with the reaction of the knights as she continued to stroll through the streets, disappearing into the distance.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

"Take all of these materials I collected for you."

Itsuki plopped a huge bag into Naofumi's palms, big enough to make Naofumi struggle in keeping it from falling over.

When Itsuki had told him that he wanted to give something to Naofumi, he thought it was something small—not something that could probably take up half his inventory! Even in Naofumi's utter shock, Itsuki had been treating it as it was normal.

"This should be enough for you to get those two extra job levels in attack, considering if you choose to break them all down into energy."

Naofumi finally raised his voice and immediately spurted out.

"T-This is a lot, Itsuki! W-Way too much!"

"Yeah?" Itsuki crossed his arms as if he was confused. "And? I don't see an issue."

"I can't just take all of this!"

"Huh!? Why not!?" Itsuki stomped his feet. "I picked out some of the best materials I could get my hands on to give it to you! I even went out to buy some of the material that was in the market places! They're high quality, you know!"

"That's the problem!"

Naofumi started whining. He would have started burying his face into his hand if it weren't for the sack of material sitting in them right now, as if it was mocking him. Naofumi instead shook his head.

"No. I can't. I just can't take any of this without giving something else in return. This is more than what was necessary, Itsuki!"

"Look, if you're going to be strong, you need to kill things!" Itsuki explained, motioning his hands about. "And since you're the Shield Hero, you need to somehow get more attack points to be able to start killing them! This is really the only way I could think of that could get you yourself 'steady footing' you were going on about! At the very least, it's enough to make sure you won't take fifteen eternities to kill monsters!"

"I appreciate you going out of your way to help me out, but I really think you overstepped the boundaries here!"

"Do I really need a permission slip to overstep boundaries when it comes to helping my friends out?" Itsuki sighed, shaking his head. "Honestly, this isn't even close to what I would have considered to be overstepping boundaries. If I could, I would have walked right into the castle and got the king to cough up the truth—that he had been conspiring with the Church of Three Heroes and forced him to be dethroned. A man like that has no right to be controlling the justice of this country. And that's just me being nice."

Naofumi wryly gazed at the materials and back to Itsuki who had his chest puffed out, then once again back to the materials.

"... If you're alright with me taking all of this," Naofumi started to open up his inventory and attempted to stuff everything inside, "then I'm in your debt, Itsuki. I really owe you one and I'll look to return a favour for you in the future."

Naofumi had smiled, thanking the heavens that he had such a good friend.

Itsuki had smirked as if he had been congratulating himself on a job well done as the materials started to disappear into the personal secondary plane of existence.

"With that much material, it'll take some time to sift through and consume all of them into the shield. And then you have to go through all of them in the inventory again and—oh god, I just realized the amount of trivial work I just gave you."

"No, no. This is really fine. Really." Naofumi tried to give his usual smile to his friend to help reassure him. "Thanks, Itsuki."

With his menu still up, Naofumi grimaced at the screen. Seeing the amount of materials being stacked up in his inventory slightly made Naofumi envious. By all means, he should be happy that Itsuki bestowed him a helping hand where he didn't need to stick his head out to the public. If he had done that, Naofumi would have rather kept to himself than to drag Itsuki down to the level of criminal.

However, Naofumi couldn't stop the bitterness in his heart.

"... Hey, Itsuki?"

"Hmm? What's up?"

"... Do you ever think I'll be able to gather as much material as you could?"

Itsuki could have answered that easily because the both of them already knew the response.

Itsuki simply didn't know if he should have laid it out flatly for Naofumi to hear in its naked truth. Itsuki tightened his fist as he released a deep breath, thinking of a way to land the blow, though as soft as possible. However, Naofumi spoke up before Itsuki could have the chance to do so.

"... I already know, Itsuki. It's fine. When I get enough attack points from the energy system, I'll be able to catch up! And then, I'll be able to fight on equal footing as everyone else! And if I can get a hold of money, I'll be able to buy them whenever I need to!"

Itsuki felt like Naofumi was lying to himself to keep his hopes up. One stubbed toe was probably all it would have taken to push Naofumi down at this point since Itsuki realized that, like Ren, Naofumi started to bottle up his real emotions—mainly of his despair.

Being the Shield Hero and unable to get stronger. Being accused of a crime he didn't do and convicted as such. Unable to find party members to help him out due to the notoriety, whereas the only other people that still believe in him were those that couldn't directly solve his innate problem.

Added to that, trying to push away those that could help him out because his attempt to be considerate and avoid their inclusion in his name.

Itsuki imagined that Naofumi felt lonely and hopeless throughout the last few days. That was something that Itsuki wished Naofumi had never experienced.

Those emotions had been painful to deal with, especially without the support of others. He knew from personal experience, but he didn't know how to treat it from the other side.

If only Ren had been here and if only Ren hadn't blown up in Naofumi's face, perhaps he could have helped like how he saved Itsuki.

"I can only say that you should keep working hard," Itsuki said, almost empty. "Eventually, you'll be rewarded for all that labour and be free from the stigmas that had been dropped on your head."

"Y-Yeah…" Naofumi rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, you're right, Itsuki! I'll keep working hard!"

"I recommend you watch your back though. If Ren was here, he'd be telling you that. There's no way to know when the Church of Three Heroes and the king is going to try and launch another plan to kick you into the dirt while you're down."

"T-They… wouldn't be that cruel." Naofumi's jaw hung a bit open as he hesitated. "W-Would they?"

"They condemned an innocent man, let alone this man being one of the Cardinal Heroes that was meant to save their lands, with a rape accusation. I think a follow-up strike isn't out of the realm of possibility."

Naofumi acted as if he shrunk, finally having the place to bury his face into his palms. "If that would happen, I honestly wouldn't know what the hell I should do."

"Let's just take things one step at a time. For now, you're on your own, Naofumi." Itsuki didn't want to do this, but for all practical purposes, he needed to. "I'm going to be leaving the capital tomorrow for a guild request I accepted today. Once I'm done there, I'm probably going to be travelling around, getting stronger and helping whoever needs the help. The next time we'll meet for certain is going to be the first wave—well, I guess it would be technically the second wave."

"You've already done so much for me, Itsuki."

Naofumi glanced down at his shield, dread filling up his eyes. Naofumi didn't mind if the help stopped, but he felt selfish, thinking that he wanted to keep tabs with Itsuki every so often. It was terrible of him to be keeping Itsuki chained to the capital because Naofumi couldn't actually depart from it.

"I really didn't think as much as I could, Naofumi."

"Well," Naofumi began to chuckle at his own solemn joke, "it isn't as if you could give me a party member!"

"_I fear that the Bow Hero cannot provide that, but indeed—I may be able to help you on that account. Yes, indeed!"_

Naofumi widened his eyes. Itsuki clearly didn't say that.

Itsuki widened his eyes. Naofumi clearly didn't say that.

The voice that spoke seemed to be eerie and pitched, almost like it couldn't have been coming from a human. However, it still held onto the recognizable and inexplicable traits of a real human's voice and it surely sounded like it was nearby, watching them with their every move.

Then _who—_

—"Who's there!?"

Itsuki shouted as Naofumi felt a presence behind him. He stepped out of the way and threw his body to the wall of the alleyway and twisted his head around into the depths.

Itsuki, on the other hand, immediately acted and drew his bow for their security. He didn't want people to group him together with Naofumi—that was the only reason he had asked one of his party members to give Naofumi the message to meet up here.

Naofumi had noticed a silk top hat immediately below his eye level. He panned down to see that wearing the tall top hat had been a short man, but Naofumi had _immediately _gotten chills the moment he laid his eyes on him.

Naofumi's breathing started to become erratic for a few seconds, seeing that who—_or what_—had been standing behind him was a man akin to a ringmaster, paired with the proper tuxedo and black pants. Feathers flew out from underneath his opened vest as his neck had been completely hidden away with the bowtie on his collar.

Naofumi didn't want to think about it, but the man's face had been just as eerie as his voice. His fogged up glasses hide away his true eyes as it rested readily on his triangular nose. His mustache had almost been as half as long as his mouth as he kept a sinister, omnipresent grin as his expression.

When Naofumi gazed upon the short man, Naofumi thought for a split moment that the man knew he was taken back. Even though Naofumi couldn't see his eyes at all, he felt like they were observing Naofumi rather closely.

"I am simply a man with a customer's best interest at heart. Nothing more and nothing less, indeed!"

"I'm not here to play games!" Itsuki readied his bow like it was a gun at a chokepoint. Naofumi saw and instinctively kept his body close to the wall. "Who the hell are you!? Who sent you here!? Where did you come from!? Answer me!"

"For you, I do not see any benefits in answering unless I see you as a potential customer."

"W-Why, you—!"

"I am here for another person, someone that I could help out—indeed, I could help out exponentially!"

"H-Help out…?" Itsuki gasped, but he retained his steady aim on the man. Naofumi didn't even know if Itsuki had been intending to shoot or to simply scare off the man. "W-Wait, you want to _help _Naofumi?"

"Indeed! Though, not directly." The ringleader had raised a finger through his white alchemist gloves and wagged it slightly, side to side. "However, that is all the questions I'll answer for you, Bow Hero! You're not in my interest right now. Unlike the Shield Hero over here—I shall answer any questions that you wish with the… _utmost _importance."

"M-Me?" Naofumi pointed to himself, as he felt like the mysterious man had been sizing him up.

"... Hmm. You do not seem to be the man as the rumors made you out to be," he said, rubbing his chin in thought. "However, I can see fragments of the ideal customer in those eyes, as if they were about to burst out into their own beings, but had been restricted by a certain meddling action. Not the ideal one I would have wished to see, but… I suppose you shall do, indeed!"

"C-Customer…? What are you going on about!?"

"I had enough of this cryptic bullshit!" Itsuki's arrow started to glow as if he was getting ready to truly fire it. If anything though, it was like his voice had a type of desperation to it. "Forget about what you saw here! Or else, I'm going to have to show you a reason as to why you should forget!"

"Forget? Why upon the heavens would I forget?" The man giggled, rubbing his hands together creepily. The movements were slow, as if they were slithering across one another. "I came for the Shield Hero, so you mustn't worry, indeed. However, I fear that isn't a satisfactory answer for you. Then how about this? In exchange for letting me remember, I keep this meeting to myself. That was always my intention, indeed!"

"H-How the hell can we trust you?"

"Y-Yeah!" Naofumi jumped into the conversation. He didn't want Itsuki being discovered to be working with him behind the scenes by a creepy man. He wanted to put the man in good faith, but his appearance and mannerisms were definitely pushing Naofumi's nerves, past the point of his comfortability. "There's no way we'll be able to know if you're lying or not!"

"Then allow me to tell you the reason why I am here in the first place. Indeed, that would be a wise decision."

Itsuki leered over to Naofumi who had responded similarly. He tried to read Naofumi's eyes to the best of his ability, but the lack of full tenseness in the body suggested that they should probably calm down. It was as if Naofumi had been silently telling Itsuki to cease his aggressive gunpoint.

Despite not being the one in the hostage seat, it seemed like the strange man had gotten control of the situation, only retaining the weapon of the voice.

Itsuki tried to relax himself as best as he could while putting away his bow. The arrow had flashed, shattering into air particles within the next moment.

"Excellent choice, indeed."

Naofumi took back a proper stance within the alleyway as Itsuki walked forward to be at his side.

"So I'm this supposed customer of interest?" Naofumi asked. "And you said you wanted to help me out? Someone who's perceived as a criminal in the land of Melromarc?"

"You see, I will not be aiding you directly. However, it is my business that shall allow you to grow to higher heights as the Shield Hero—as you had wished implicitly previously before in your conversation."

Naofumi felt his left eye twitching. "... How long were you listening to our conversation?"

"That does not matter."

"It kinda does."

"_Creep_," Itsuki stabbed right through. Itsuki held onto himself, trying to calm down the sudden goosebumps he had gotten from the recent exchange. "But what do you mean by business? How the hell is a business going to help out Naofumi here?"

The ringleader had pushed up his glasses, shining a spark of light in the shadows of the alleyway.

"Tell me, Shield Hero. How do you think you will survive in this world by your lonesome? There are only so many things you can do by yourself, indeed! The power that a single person has is limited while yours, I'd say, are quite lower than low, indeed."

Itsuki noticed Naofumi grit his teeth and clench his fist. The man knew where to strike really hard and really fast.

"I… I know that! That's why I have to work my ass off to get to a reasonable point!"

"And what is this reasonable point? Indeed, I must ask!"

"The reasonable point is…" Naofumi started to stammer in his words as his eyes lurked downwards in some sorrow. "The reasonable… point… is…"

"Get to the point!" Itsuki immediately stepped in. "You're not exactly making things better for yourself here!"

"If the Bow Hero wishes, then that's something I could attend to, indeed!" His gloved hands came back together, but they weren't moving this time. They locked between the gaps of each other's fingers as the man retained his almost mischievous smirk.

"Tell me, Shield Hero."

Naofumi slowly glanced back up, releasing the tension in his mouth and arms.

"Are you interested in any manpower for your party?"

"You're… offering party members?" Naofumi deduced.

"Oh, I see." Itsuki held a hand on his hip. "You're managing a separate branch of adventurers who don't care about social standings, as long as they get paid."

"Both are wrong." The man had said it was a stern tone and yet, it held a whimsical air. "Both are quite wrong, indeed! Party members always have the chance of betraying your trust! Adventurers will ditch you if they do not feel like your payment is worth it anymore! Both answers are completely and utterly wrong, indeed!"

"What are you going on about?"

"No, no." The man had wagged his finger carefully and meticulously, as if it were a pendulum of a grandfather clock. "What I offer is not party members nor adventurers. What I offer instead is something more absolute, indeed. What I offer is something much better."

And there had been the chills again, dropped once the eerie man had smiled so creepily when he spoke. Naofumi was slightly frightened by this man's existence as a whole, but if he settled down and truly listened to its content, this man had been offering Naofumi something that he needed.

What exactly hasn't been clear yet, but Naofumi could only wish it wasn't anything that crossed the line.

"You're beating around the bush! What exactly is this business!?"

"Do you wish to know?" An amused laughter resulted from Itsuki's outcry. "Rather than tell you, perhaps it would be much better to _show _you."

"This is too suspicious. Really suspicious!" Itsuki's fingers wrapped around his bow. He was rapidly getting impatient at the roundabout method the man used to convey his thoughts. He believed that there should be a more, clearer incentive. "Tell me one reason why I shouldn't blow you away with my Legendary Bow!"

"In all honesty," the man giggled, "I don't need to be the one to tell you. Yes, indeed."

"W-What...? What do you mean…?"

In the moment, Itsuki felt his bow being held down. His eyes leered down to see that there was an extra hand on it and he traced back the arm to see Naofumi to be holding him back. He didn't know what was going on in Naofumi's mind right now, but a simple gaze onto his expression made it seem like Naofumi had been sincerely hearing the shirt man out.

"Naofumi, you can't be serious."

"I…" Itsuki felt Naofumi's grip on his bow frame get tighter. "I think we should at least hear the man out."

Itsuki wondered what the hell the business could be, but for all of his wondering, there wasn't an obvious answer. He'd be lying to say that he hadn't been curious, but he'd also be lying to say that he wasn't terrified to discover what it is.

It was only a matter of a tether that determined what his choice was, finally letting go and fading with the flow.

"... Fine. Let's see what you got, but if I feel like something funny is going on," Itsuki scoffed, pointing directly at the man's forehead, "it's your head that's going to suffer."

"Yes, yes. Indeed, it shall be!" With a shake of his head, he turned around and started to walk deeper into the alleyways. "Then please! Follow me to where I manage my business, if you will be so kind."

Itsuki and Naofumi glanced at each other, as he sent a concerned glare over to Naofumi. However, Naofumi paused for a moment to debate his locked-in decision and nodded to Itsuki, going on to follow the stubby man. Itsuki, having his doubts about the validity of the offer, decided to follow Naofumi to ensure that nothing bad comes out of this.

Though, he could only hope.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 021 : Shield's Situation**

[Naofumi] : "It's really difficult to fight by myself these days. Those balloons would not just be killed. No matter how many times I punch them, it seems like they have a surplus amount left!"

[Naofumi] : "Even when I leveled up, my attack rating didn't increase much, if not then at all. And the level experience gauge is only going to exponentially increase. I wonder if I'm ever going to be able to kill monsters at the same rate as the others…"

[Naofumi] : "I know I said things in my defense in front of Ren's ranting, but I'm starting to feel the effects of being condemned for a crime that I didn't do. Without people helping me out and fighting alongside me, this really feels more like a tiresome chore if anything. Besides…"

[Naofumi] : "What use is a shield when there's no one to protect? Nothing, that's what."

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 022 : The Mysterious Man**

[Itsuki] : "Was this really a good idea, Naofumi? I feel like this man might be waiting for a chance to jump us once we're further into the alleyway."

[Naofumi] : "Look, if things turn out to be a scam, I'll make sure that you get out of here safely. Besides, I feel like we didn't have another option."

[Itsuki] : "I'll be fine. I just don't have the best history with alleyways."

[Naofumi] : "Oh. Right. The meeting with the assassin."

[Naofumi] : "... If Ren couldn't have dealt with someone like the assassin, how am I supposed to protect you? I didn't really think about that."

[Itsuki] : "You want to turn back? We can still dip out of here."

[Naofumi] : "... No, I feel like we still have to hear him out. His ramblings made me wonder what he could be talking about. From what he was going on about, it sounded like he was offering a party member, but he rejected our assumptions."

[Itsuki] : "Maybe… he's a monster pet merchant? In Motoyasu's _Emerald Online_, I vaguely remember that you can buy monsters as tamed pets to help you find battles."

[Itsuki] : "Though, I don't know if that's really the case here. If it was, that man wouldn't have needed to seem so creepy and mysterious."

[Naofumi] : "Well, I guess there's only one way to find out."

[Itsuki] : "Unfortunately."

[Naofumi] : "... So when did he start listening to the conversation?"

[Itsuki] : "I _really_ don't want to think about it."

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**


	12. Chapter 1-11 : Definition of A Slave

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

Ren's guild request took him to see another village. He'd finished the rank-up requirements within the span of four to five hours. Taking the first days to analyse where all of the monsters had been helpful tremendously from getting to point A to point B without losing anytime and adding the fact that he was taking only a few slashes to kill them, it made for one of the quickest rank-ups in the guild.

Apparently, no one ever tried to accept and bank every single fodder quest at a single time, attempting to finish all of the rank-up requirements in one fell swoop. Though it was easier said than done, Ren was able to do it.

For the actual request itself, it merely took them a day of travel to get there and another to get back using a paid carriage ride. The entire request took up about a week and Ren was heading over to the guild with his party members to wrap up the request.

Ren kept glancing over his shoulder as they walked through town. His party members had been awkwardly trailing behind him, trying to converse with themselves to disrupt that atmosphere. It was rather difficult when their leader had been obviously letting them fend for themselves.

Their introductions were made during the first day, but Ren hadn't been paying attention since it was redundant. Their names were already displayed on the party screen and they were all at a decent level as well. They were quite skilled for what he could see, but he found it difficult to coordinate around them.

Ren stopped in the middle of the streets.

"That should be it for now. We'll meet up back at the usual inn within the capital for the night to debrief."

The party members looked to one another, but Ren didn't stay around to see what their reactions were. One of his party members actually followed him, but it wasn't as if he cared much. Though, the banes were starting to become an eyesore.

Apparently, his name was Bakta and he was the highest level out of the group, ranking at a solid number of 48. It was almost double of the lowest levelled member of the team, not counting Ren himself, and as such, he was killing the monster much quicker than Ren initially expected. His slices were much smoother, entering the monsters as if the levels themselves commended it.

Evidently, he was a person that showed himself as a dependable fighter with a heart that was equally as caring. Ever since the word came about in his party that he was taken down by an assassin, Bakta was the one that started to stick to him like putty, refusing to let any danger run his way again.

Though, he'd really appreciate it even more if Bakta had stopped it with the excuses. He didn't want to be babysat and even with his explanations of how he wouldn't be taken down like that again, Bakta was seemingly reluctant to not listen. He kept claiming that it was his duty to make sure that the Sword Hero is able to get stronger and to not be in danger early on.

He wondered if Batka was trying to protect the Sword Hero or Ren Amaki. He could only assume the former and being such, he missed the days where he could gain solo experience.

Though, he later discovered that there was no such thing as solo experience. Everyone in the party received the same amount of experience inside a party and the reduction only starts to occur once the party hits a certain limit. In other words, there were no benefits to fighting alone.

As he mulled in his thoughts, he walked off down the streets to head right over to the adventurer's guild.

It was still as busy as ever, with adventurers heading in and out. There were a few adventurers loitering around at the front, but he kept his head down to avoiding gaining any attention upon entering.

He approached the front reception, passing over his identification card and presenting the proof that the quest was properly completed. The rewards were already given to him from the original requester, but they weren't allowed to take another request without giving proof that they've finished their current one. The paperwork was filed and the card was returned to him.

He glanced over to the job boards and decided to take up a random fodder quest to pass the time.

"So what's next on the board, Sir Ren? Anything that you're interested in right now?"

"Look, Baktas."

"Bakta."

"Right, well…" Ren stammered at the subtle misstatement of his party member's name. It was a while ever since he had to deal with strangers for a long period of time, especially one that was so clingy. "Look, I don't mean to be offensive, but I want to take up a few kill quests by myself."

"With me by your side, you'll go through them much quicker!"

"That's not what I'm trying to get at here. When I said I wanted to do it by myself, I meant that."

"I'm sorry, Sir Ren, but you already know my answer to that."

"Hopefully, it's an agreement," Ren answered dryly.

"Surely, you jest, Sir Ren!" Batka laughed at what he presumed to be a joke from Ren. If anything, it was probably better for his self-esteem to believe it as so. "I can't have you being attacked again. You can never be too sure!"

All Ren could do was croak his displeasure.

Honestly, it was probably much easier to fake wrapping up for the day since it was starting to become late and sneak out to the fields to get some alone time with his sword against the monsters.

Alongside that, there was also the more important part of the equation he had to consider.

If Ren couldn't shake off Batka, he couldn't make any solid investigations into the Church. He didn't need people asking questions about what he was doing and why he was doing it, so the only thing he could reliably count on was that Zellus hadn't been slacking at his end of the deal.

"Never mind. I'm feeling tired anyways."

He turned away from the boards and walked off.

"O-Oh, alright."

As he was leaving, there was a small disturbance in the guild over at the tavern portion of the hall. He tried to ignore it, but the rowdy nature made it impossible to not simply glance over, if not for a second. Honestly, he didn't understand such an addition to the organization since all Ren could foresee were problems involved with drunkeness.

It looked like there were two adventurers who drank a little bit too much, then got on each other's nerves. The ones watching had been cheering or egging them on for a fight while the poor employees tried to settle things down, failing spectacularly, before running off to get better help.

Batka had noticed it too.

"Sir Ren, maybe you should go resolve the problem?"

"Well, it's not my problem and I won't be getting anything out of it. Drunk as they may be, they're not going to be killing anyone with that many people around." Ren sighed, breaking away from the glance. "At most, one of them is going to get injured, but that's their own lesson that they'll have to learn."

"E-Erhm…" Batka looked distressed from Ren's answer, but resolved it as an acceptable answer. "I-If that's what you believe, Sir Ren…"

Itsuki always said that he had little compassion for the people he didn't know and it was something he acknowledged himself. He wasn't like Itsuki, who would want to help out friends and strangers alike in the name of justice; Ren admitted that his mannerisms were more selfish, but he'd be damned if there was anything stopping him.

However, he couldn't help himself to eye how the fight would have ended up. For now, all the drunken adventurers were doing was smack-talking and insulting the other loudly; they weren't even good ones. Ren could think of a thousand sentences that would have been better suited.

Both of them finally broke the limit and the surrounding adventurers jeered them, seeing fists beginning to tighten and pull back for the first hit.

The crowd went silent when the punches landed.

Even Ren had to be silent, stopping in his tracks and glaring at the unexpected results.

It wasn't either of drunken adventurers who landed their intended attack on the other. In fact, they didn't even hit each other.

There was an adventurer who quickly appeared between them, holding both of their fists in his palms. As Ren focused, he recognized that it wasn't merely an adventurer and started to realize how concealed that certain knight was within the crowd in the midst of the adventurers. With that clothing, he really looked like one of them.

"Stirring up some trouble, are we?"

The knight smirked at the two adventurers who both looked as if their life was flashing before their eyes.

"There's a reason why you don't throw a straight hook as your first attack in a fight, you two! I don't care if you're drunk; your instincts should already be telling you that!"

The knight immediately tugged on the hands, pulling both of them towards each other. Their heads collided together as he slammed the skulls once more for insurance. The knight pulled back from their collars and sent both of them stumbling back backwards into the crowd.

One of the adventurers looked as if he was starting to grasp what was happening where the other was already knocked unconscious.

"If you want to fight, take it outside! People are trying to drink here and if you're insistent, I'll be gladly your opponent!" The knight pounded his fist and and chuckled brazenly. "Your call!"

The one that managed to keep his head intact started stammering. Apparently, a double skull knock was enough to tap the man out of his drunken state somehow. Ren really needed to figure out how to do that whenever Motoyasu gets on his nerves again like during the banquet.

"N-No! W-We're weren't…! I-I mean, we were, but…! I-It's a bad idea!"

"Is it now?"

The knight's knuckles crackled.

"I… I just remembered I have to go do something!"

The man started to scatter himself away from the tavern area and pushed past Ren to make his impromptu exit. The knight merely groaned, casting his glance back to the opponent that was being held up by some adventurers.

"You know what to do with him. Take him to the guild's infirmary." The employee walked up behind him and said something, almost whispering in a low tone. "Don't worry about it. Transfer the costs onto my tab." The employee nodded and left the knight.

However, the crowd was still murmuring as the unconscious man was taken away.

"What are you all still mumbling about?!" he shouted into the general area. "Go on, get to your drinks! Night hasn't even fallen yet!"

As he dispersed the crowd back to their seats, he noticed Ren and Batka in his sight. Rolling his shoulder, he immediately made a straight line heading towards the pair. There wasn't much Ren could have done; they've already made eye contact unintentionally.

Ren scratched the back of his neck, not really knowing what the knight wanted with him. When he glanced over to Bakta, it looked like his physical mannerisms changed as his body straightened out, even more than before.

"A-Ah… Y-You must be the famous knight… Zellar?"

Ren narrowed his eyes. Batka tried way too hard to get Zellus' name wrong for some reason and the knight had amusingly chuckled at Batka's attempt at calling him.

"It's Zellus. Don't get it wrong the next time."

He moved his attention over to the hero.

"Anyways, it's been a week, Ren!" Apparently, he was starting to call him by his name rather than the title. Either way was fine by him; Ren didn't really care. "Hopefully, you've been harnessing that sword skills of yours. I would hate to see them get rusted out when you have so much potential."

"Well, I'm already Level 16. Levels are starting to be harder to get, but it's not that bad."

"That's not really what I meant, Ren," Zellus replied, crossing his arms. "Anyone idiot can swing a sword to get experience, but you can't neglect the actual technique. They say that weapons can reach your opponents, but training lets you get even closer."

"Whatever." He didn't feel like getting lectured by Zellus now. He didn't realize the man could even give lectures in the first place. "My training with my sword hasn't dulled and killing the monsters so far has been relatively easy."

Zellus looked dissatisfied with the answer, but shrugged it off. "I guess that's fine for now. As long as you're getting better with your sword, you'll make for a good fight one day when we have the time!"

"I hope you have a reason for approaching me other than a body update," Ren stated bluntly, "and I'm not looking to randomly fight one of the knights for your amusement again."

"Actually, I think I have something you would like to hear. I'm lucky to have caught you here, rather than trying to track you down in the capital."

Ren lowered his brows, stealing sight of Batka out of the corner of his eyes. He had a good feeling what Zellus wanted to talk about, but Batka was serving as a main problem about communicating that idea.

"Should we be talking about _that_ here?"

"Yeah, we shouldn't be talking in an open environment like the guild hall. Too many ears and too many variables to take account of." Zellus tapped Ren's back as he slowly walked past. "Come, I'll take you to another tavern I know about. It's mainly empty around this time of the day since it's known as a late-night bar. Most people don't even know it's open around now."

"But there's still…"

Ren nudged his head subtly over to Batka's direction, but apparently, Batka could actually take a hint if he wanted to see it.

"Do you need to speak privately with him, Sir Ren? I'll accompany you to the tavern, but I'll stay on guard outside. All I can ask is that you won't take too long."

Ren was about to be thankful for the notion, but Zellus had to intervene.

"Actually, I'll need you in this conversation too, Batka."

Ren narrowed his eyes, snapping over to Zellus.

Batka _hasn't introduced himself_ to Zellus yet. Of course, there was the notion that both Zellus and Batka knew each other already before he was recruited to be a part of the Sword Hero's ally, but then there would be no reason for Batka to try and get Zellus' name wrong.

"W-Wait, I thought we were supposed to…"

Batka looked slightly thrown off, but Zellus shook his head.

"Even if you weren't with Ren, I was going to track down where you were anyways. What I wanted to talk about was the trial of the Shield Hero and the reality behind its accusations. Other than Ren, I'll need to entrust an extra hand by his side for the task I have in mind for him. I trust you'll help me out, right?"

Ren frowned. "... _Task_?"

Zellus nodded.

"I'm planning out an operation against the Church of the Three Heroes. My own investigations have brought me something new to the table that I think we should look into."

* * *

**)**—**(\**IV**| Chapter 1-11 |**IV**/)|**—**(  
)\\( Definition of A Slave )/(**

* * *

Who knew that the alleyways went further in and were more elaborate than they had assumed?

None of Itsuki's companions ever told him about the depths of these narrow, out-of-reach roads. If anything, they seemed to be something akin to a labyrinth and it felt like anything could jump out at them, given the endless opportunities. These pathways even extended underground and brought them over to a secluded section of the city. None of them could have guessed which part of the city that this belonged to, but they were certain that if they tried to get here on their own volition and sense of direction, then they would have been lost.

Itsuki didn't even know how he was lured into the background of the capital anyways and without even noticing the depths that they went on for. Even leaving the alleyways, he simply followed Ren's tracks as they turned each corner and went down each corridor with ease. The feeling of dread that Itsuki had easily exceeded before, but that may have come from the man that was leading their group.

Before they realized it, they came to a wide opening and within the center was a wide circus tent, something fitting for a base for someone that looked like a circus ringmaster. Itsuki never thought that something as big as this had been lurking in the shadows of the alleyways. He didn't even think it was possible as the man had opened up the entrance flap for them to pass through.

"After you! Customers will always be treated with the utmost respect, indeed!"

Skeptical at first, it had been Naofumi who had taken the first steps as Itsuki closely followed behind. He tried to keep his surroundings in check, making sure he wasn't about to be knocked out like last time. Being unconscious at a time like this was one of the most concerning things and being in a stranger area within the depths of the capital surely cried out for an obvious attempt to cause it.

They came inside to a small room with a counter. It was as if there were stations prepared for whatever reasons as Itsuki tried to make sense of what he was looking at. He couldn't make heads or tails about it—the closest guess he had was something akin to a medieval-styled tattoo station, but if it was anything remotely close to his guess, he wouldn't have known what it had to do with the business that was meant to help out Naofumi.

"Right this way, Shield Hero. Indeed, please come right in."

The mysterious man had walked right past Naofumi and led him into another room. This time, Naofumi was the one that had to push the tent's flap out of the way as he tried to clear it for Itsuki's path as well.

However, Itsuki bumped right into Naofumi's back, thinking that he would at least move further in. He staggered slightly, rubbing his nose as he made a small growl towards his fellow hero.

"Gah! That hurts! What's the problem, Naofumi? Just walk!"

"... W-What… What the hell…?"

A sense of distress had consumed Naofumi's voice. Itsuki could see that his body had been shaking to a small degree as his breaths became more erratic and less focused. His urgency of anger rapidly subsided as he kept taking note of Naofumi's odd reaction, overcoming himself with concern.

"H-Hey… What happened, Naofumi?"

"T-This… This can't be right…"

Itsuki's curiosity was starting to overflow, as he pushed Naofumi out of the way to take a look at what Naofumi had been so discomforted by. Naofumi didn't even realize he was getting pushed—that's how badly he had been taken back.

"Alright. Let's see what's the prob—!"

Itsuki's heart skipped a beat as he entered in further than Naofumi in his quickened pace. His eyes widened as a rush of emotions drilled right into his body. He didn't even know how to react to the scenery that unfolded before his sight. He had lost control of his body as it kept reacting with unstable thoughts as he felt that his irregular beating of his heart had reached a higher speed.

The short man in front of Itsuki and Naofumi turned his head around with a smirk plastered on his face.

"Welcome to my business. Indeed, allow me to properly introduce myself." He stepped around to face the two exasperated heroes, taking off his silk top hat and making a gentle bow towards them. "My name is Beloukas. The business that I offer to the Shield Hero is—"

"—slavery. It's slavery." Itsuki muttered the obvious assumption under his breath before a rush of anger boiled intensely. "W-Why is this…?"

It was dark and dreary within this portion of the tent, where shadows consumed all except for the area dimly lit by the standing torches. Even then, the flames seemed to have wanted to wilt away from such a gloomy atmosphere. However, Itsuki had wished that the flames failed and kept this entire room in darkness.

It's disgusting. How could someone even think about doing this!?

Cage among cages among cages.

Bodies within each and every one that he could see as their eyes wandered towards the apparent customers. Some of them shifted their posture, almost as if they were wanting to be picked, wanting to get out of this hell hole. Others shrinked, trying not to be noticed by them. Either they look like they could put up with their imprisonment or they're miserable and there was no need for any serious deduction to figure out which had been whom.

The stench that had been finally reaching Itsuki's noses had been incredibly terrible—more than what he could take, but his anguish had dealt with the sense, nulling them all away. The sight alone of the arrays among arrays of caged slaves had been more than enough to make him puke on the spot, but he fought against that urge so hard.

Beloukas grinned, tipping back his hat onto his head.

"Best in the country of Melromarc, indeed. I make sure that the customers always get a slave that they are looking for." His smile was not aiding Itsuki and Naofumi, simply befitting the mood.

Itsuki may have heard Naofumi take a few steps forward, trying to be near his friend, but he was too distracted to even take note of the Shield Hero's approach. He looked into the nearest cage that his eyes wandered at and noticed that there had been someone inside.

Though Itsuki couldn't call him human, he certainly had a humanoid figure.

His skin had been entirely covered in dark silver fur, but it was clear to see that it hadn't been washed in weeks. Dirt and debris stuck within the hairs, as a mere tunic was what the figure had been wearing. It was in shambles though, barely covering him up. Instead of a human's face, it was more accurate to say it was like looking at a wolf. His stout had been stretched out as he sat quietly, glaring back at Itsuki with weak, yet angered red eyes.

He surely didn't look like Itsuki's species of human, but he could tell there was a life shackled away in that cage. He hated seeing this, despite never even thinking about an issue like this ever in his life before.

Naofumi, on the other hand, had still been trying to comprehend the insanity he was welcomed into. Honestly, he didn't know what he should have expected when Beloukas said he was offering help in manpower, but hadn't been offering adventurers or mercenaries. Now that he knew, he wanted out desperately.

"W-What's… H-How…?" Naofumi mumbled incoherent thoughts and incomplete sentences before he settled on one that defined his mind's current process.. "T-This can't be… real…"

"Indeed! This is what I offer to the Shield Hero!" Beloukas extended his arms outwards as if he's welcoming them to the truth. "Manpower that cannot turn their head unless they are told to! Party members who cannot even dream about betrayal unless they are told to! Indeed, what I offer to the Shield Hero are slaves!"

Itsuki gritted his teeth and clenched his fist, immediately running straight at Beloukas.

"Y-You! Shut up already! I've had enough, you sicko!"

"Itsuki!"

However, Itsuki couldn't land his attack. A dark figure, cloaked in rags, had interfered with Itsuki's pathing. It grabbed his arm and yanked it back in reverse, tossing Itsuki back where he was—if not, a short distance away of one or two bounces.

"Grah!"

"Itsuki!" Naofumi rushed down to his friend, helping him get to his standings. "Are you alright!?"

His friend growled in a low-pitched tone, almost as if he instinctively became a beast. Naofumi was almost scared to let Itsuki grab his hand from the sheer sound. He didn't realize Itsuki could have made such a noise with his voice.

"I will be alright, once this man stops this insane business once and for all."

"It seems like you have a problem with my _esteemed _business. Yes, indeed!"

Beloukas nodded gently towards the cloaked figure who had escaped the heroes' sights. Now that the mysterious figure had revealed himself to be watching over his benefactor, Naofumi and Itsuki needed to think twice about doing anything towards the slave trader.

"You can't be serious! You have to be an idiot to show such a shady business to the Cardinal Heroes!" Itsuki used Naofumi's help to get back on his feet, as his eyes flared up. "Once we get word of your business out to the public and the king, you're done for!"

"Are you sure about that, Bow Hero?" His smile seemed wider than ever before. "If that had been the case, I wouldn't have ever approached you two and risk losing everything I've achieved with my business. Indeed, if I had done that, then calling me an idiot is something to be granted."

"W-What…" Naofumi didn't like where the topic had been going, but it seemed like Itsuki didn't realize the implications that Beloukas had given them. However, Naofumi had to ask for clarification. "W-What do you mean?"

Beloukas had pinched the flat ends of his top hat with two fingers and slid it across from left to right, all keeping that mischievous smile to his name. An amused chuckle covered the atmosphere.

"Slavery is legal within Melromarc, Cardinal Heroes. Didn't you know?"

Itsuki felt like glass shattered in the distance, but it might as well have been Itsuki's mind that broke. It didn't take more than a few minutes to realize that the country that summoned him had a messed up foundation.

Itsuki thought this was a kingdom that cared for its people, thus why they summoned the Cardinal Heroes to protect them from the waves of destruction, but now—he saw the real face of the royal family, the ones that had been in control. Not only that, but noble families must have been in on the issue. Assumptions after assumptions he had made, but to think that in the mindset he had to fight against the waves of destruction in the name of a just cause, he hadn't been sure anymore.

Where was the justice in this land where an innocent man is condemned and slaves were kept legally?

"And it comes all around…" Naofumi muttered; his body tensed up from the awful revelation. "That's why you were able to approach me, having the idea of getting me to buy a slave from you."

"Indeed, I was."

There was not even a single ounce of hesitation in Beloukas' voice. Somewhere, Naofumi wanted him to start laughing out, exclaiming that he was simply pulling his leg and joking around. Naofumi wanted him to reveal that these weren't actually slaves, but people paid to have this whole elaborate prank played on the Cardinal Heroes. Slowly, but surely, that image had broken all down.

Beloukas' glasses are reflected off a sharp light off the heavy tint.

"Are you still interested? If you're turned off, I advise you to leave this tent as it's only for customers and those accompanying said customers. Indeed, you should. However, I will show you slaves that you may have an interest in if you think otherwise. Simply give me a criteria and I will find one just for you."

"No."

Naofumi, despite being the intended customer, had his words taken away from him by Itsuki.

"Naofumi is _not _taking a slave from you. If he is, then it wouldn't be by a business exchange, but a breakout. I'm going to make you regret ever stepping foot into this industry even if it's the last thing I do."

"Your reactions seem quite different than expected, indeed!" Beloukas seemed to have been making fun of Itsuki at this point, knowing that if he would try and attack the short man once again, the lackey would stop him before he got too close. "Tell me, Bow Hero. Is the notion of slavery disliked in your world?"

"It doesn't exist in our world. Not anymore, and for a good damn reason!"

Naofumi could see Itsuki trying to hold himself back, knowing he'll simply get knocked back once again if he tried anything. Itsuki really wanted to pull out his bow and rain a million arrows into the man's body, but his clenched fist helped him from exerting that action.

"You may howl all you wish, Bow Hero. However, the decision ultimately rests with the customer. Indeed, it does."

"I know Naofumi and he wouldn't buy a slave!" Itsuki instead turned on his heel and began to stomp out furiously towards the exit. "C'mon, Naofumi! We're not wasting anymore time with this sorry excuse for a bastard!"

As Itsuki took his steps, he could only hear the noise of his own feet and the silent murmurs of the slaves and the chains that rustled within their cages. A chuckle from Beloukas rang through the air, like an evening bell calling for the lost souls.

Naofumi wasn't following him.

"... Hey, Naofumi? What the hell are you doing?"

The silence continued as Itsuki turned back to the Shield Hero who had been staring down into the ground. Naofumi was scared to answer, but it wasn't because he was frightened by Itsuki's sudden demeanor shift. He was scared about what his mind had been thinking.

"... Itsuki. Did I tell you what happened yesterday?"

Itsuki was silent, but Naofumi didn't need an answer. It was rhetorical.

"When I was in town, there were people that wanted to party up with me, despite what the results of the trials were. I was really happy to see that there were still people willing to believe in me and give me the second chance in their eyes. I really wanted to prove to them that I wasn't the person that the trial made me out to be. Though, it was a fruitless endeavor. They ended up trying to rob me of everything I had and if it hadn't been this shield and the hard defenses I put up, they would have run away with everything they could get their hands on."

"... N-Naofumi."

"I want to trust people to be my party members! I want them to trust me! Even if Myne lied about the accusations, she had to have her reasons, right!? Everyone is just making it so hard for me! The people I can trust are people that I can't possibly ask to party up with me! You guys can't because of the experience restriction and I don't have anyone else I could possibly ask! At the end of the day, I'm still the only one in the party, leaving out for another day of trying to pound the living hell out of those balloon monsters for almost nothing in return. It's only a matter of time before I break, Itsuki."

Naofumi was trying so hard to hold his emotions back, but his unsteady breathing was already making more of an impact than anything.

"I can't take it anymore… I don't understand what I ever did to them to deserve any of this! That's what I'm feeling right now! I feel too useless by myself!"

Itsuki gazed at Naofumi who seemed to be so far away from him, despite the small distance that was in between them. However, Itsuki couldn't see the bright-eyed and cheerful Naofumi that he once knew.

"That's why…!"

Naofumi's shouts calmed themselves back down.

"_That's why I think this is my only option._" His body had been shaking. "I can't prove myself if I don't get stronger, but I can't get stronger if I don't prove myself. You know what, Itsuki?"

Even Itsuki's voice had been shivering for Naofumi's sake. "What is it?"

"I think Ren was right. Reality is cruel and I have to stop looking so optimistically. This isn't the world that we were brought from. Nothing through these last few days of being by myself had been anything good. I kept telling myself that it would be fine in the end—that I'll be able to get going like you three in no time! I could keep getting betrayed by people like Myne and those party adventurers over and over again and keep my head in the skies, but if that was the case—none of them would be the ones to betray me. I would be my own biggest traitor."

Naofumi gritted his teeth and immediately turned over to Itsuki.

"... I need to break this cycle to actually get going—for real this time." He clenched his hand and held it before his own chest, staring at it as if he was holding his own conviction. "If that means I have to force someone to fight on my behalf until I can get back on my feet, I guess this is where Ren would say, 'so be it'. Right?"

Itsuki heard Naofumi's words loud and clear and frankly, he didn't know what Naofumi was trying to convince him. Perhaps Naofumi was unsure of the decision himself and desperately wanted someone else's approval on the matter, but Itsuki didn't want to answer that concern after hearing Naofumi's side of the story.

Itsuki gulped, pushing down each volume of his saliva.

His hand removed itself from the entrance's cover and hung loosely from his arm.

"... _Fine_. Let's just make this quick and get this over with."

Laughter erupted from the slave trader as both Naofumi and Itsuki glared back to the short man, one more so than the other. If Itsuki could, he would have duct taped that man's mouth shut already and tossed him back into an abyss where he'll feel right at home. Perhaps he should have simply gone for a volcano to see him being burned alive by lava—that would probably counterbalance that dreary and cold heart of his.

"So that is your decision!? Indeed, it must be!" Beloukas had brought his hands together, transitioning his rowdy laughter to a soft chuckle. "This is the most honour I've had to serve a customer. Usually, I would only need to deal with nobles of this country, but to think—I'd actually be serving the Shield Hero now. Indeed, what a surprise!"

"Just so you know, Naofumi." Itsuki began to walk back to his friend's side. "I will never ever approve of this business under normal normal circumstances."

"You don't need to worry about that," Naofumi said, turning over to Beloukas. "I don't either. The feeling of owning someone else's life by exchanging currency is sickening to me, but… I need to do this."

"Now that I have your full interest and attention," Beloukas announced as he carefully walked on through the makeshift corridor, lined with cages as the walls, "allow me to show you one of my merchandises that I think will fit very well for your situation, Shield Hero. Indeed, it shall."

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

These living beings were called demi-humans.

The more he walked through the tent, the more he began to think that the demi-humans within the castle might have been innocent just as Eclair had been, but sent in there on the mere account of their race. Naofumi could only be hopeful for those that were rotting their lives away in the dark dungeons of the castle and could only wonder in horror what they were to be used for.

Once Beloukas showed Naofumi and Itsuki to the first exhibit, as the slave trader disgustingly referred to the demi-human, he spoke about how demi-humans were essentially a variation of the human species that branched off with their beastious features, almost making them look like more akin to monsters than actual humans.

Beloukas had revealed that pricing of the first shown demi-human to be 15 gold pieces, whomst had seemed to be strong and resilient. However, the demi-human seemed incapable of proper speech though and his leg seemed to be limp, but Beloukas assured Naofumi that he was giving him a good price.

Apparently, Beloukas had found him from a colosseum when he had broken his leg during one of the exhibition fights. He was discovered and bought by Beloukas' contacts and sent here to Castle Town before the original master could dispose of him.

However, Naofumi had nowhere the amount that Beloukas had asked for. Merely a fifth of what was of the asking price, and there was no way that Naofumi could spend all of that right here, right now.

He gave the demi-human his condolences and wished him luck in the future—if he was lucky, then the demi-human, despite not being able to communicate properly, could understand what Naofumi was saying.

"You showed me the best demi-humans you have to offer to me, primarily because you knew I couldn't afford it."

Naofumi commented this out loud as they walked behind Beloukas. All in the meanwhile, Itsuki had been silent, solemnly gazing at each and every one of the cells that they passed by. Naofumi tried not to do that, as much as he would have wanted to.

"That's an odd marketing trick, if I've ever seen one—but I can see how that could work to an extent."

"It appears like your mind is keener than it seems, Shield Hero. Indeed, it is. Of course, I introduced one of my best wares in stock right now. What type of businessman would I be if I hide them away from potential buyers?"

Naofumi didn't even bother to answer his question.

"You didn't seem particularly interested in that item though."

It rubbed Naofumi the wrong way as Beloukas kept referring to the slaves as mere objects, but he knew that being upfront about it wasn't going to change anything. Naofumi instead dealt with the activity.

"Tell me, indeed. Is there anything that you're looking for specifically?"

"I want to see the cheapest that you have," Naofumi said. It was easy for him to say now, but he heavily debated inside himself the entire time to to how much he should even be paying for a life and balancing that with how much he should even be paying Beloukas.

"Indeed, we certainly have slaves well under the market spectrum. Anything more precise? For instance, we have slaves that can take on extensive labour or slaves that are quite specialized in battle. Perhaps, if what the trial's results are truly correct—"

"That's a messed up joke you're trying to get to. Stop it immediately." Itsuki muttered loud enough to interrupt Beloukas without raising his voice or even looking at the man.

"Are you sure about that?" Beloukas asked openly, tilting his head. "I do not make many jokes when I am tending to my customers. I was merely trying to use my intuition, indeed."

"Well, your intuition sucks," Itsuki retorted bleakly. "Just present us with a slave, so we can get out of here already."

And possibly return to break everyone else out while I'm at it when I have enough levels to take down everyone here that's helping to run this place.

"Please," Naofumi sighed, "hurry up and take us to what I want."

"As you wish, Shield Hero."

Beloukas started leading them into the back portion of the tent and guided them into the separated area. It was much darker here than before and it seemed like Beloukas had used this part as something akin to a storage area. The ones that had been back here looked even more miserable than the ones up front, but on the bright side—if there were any at this point, it didn't seem like many slaves were kept in this area. Most of the cages were either isolated from the others, covered in a tarp, or a combination of both.

"I assume you would want a slave that you would be able to deal with. One of a lower level, if you may."

Naofumi glared at the level above his omnipresent health bar, being reminded of such a thing. For heaven's sake, he had only been Level 3. Though, if the slave he was buying was around the same levels as him, he could at least feel a sense of unity as they grew stronger together in some twisted logic.

As Naofumi had been in his thoughts, the two heroes had heard a cough coming from one of the isolated cages off to the side. It was covered by a tarp and if there hadn't been a noise coming from it, they would have just walked right past it without a second glance.

Naofumi and Itsuki glanced at each other, silently asking each other if they had really heard such a thing. There was no doubt in their minds that it was a cough—there was no debate over that topic. However, Naofumi could have sworn that the cough had belonged to someone that shouldn't have been here. The nature of the sound had been rough and hoarse, but Naofumi couldn't shake off the feeling.

Beloukas noticed that the two heroes had stopped behind him and glanced over his shoulder to see what the issue was.

"Oh, you shouldn't be tending to slaves that are still underneath tarps. Those slaves are typically unprepared for purchasing since we've only recently gotten our hands on them, indeed. Either that, or they are to be disposed of since they are becoming unsellable to customers. Indeed, please do not concern yourself with those underneath the tarps. I assure only the finest of slaves, but I cannot do that if you seek them out yourselves."

However, Naofumi didn't heed much to Beloukas' words. His body had already been slowly moving towards the cage, extending his arm out as his grip tightened against the fabric. It was cold material, perhaps a plastic-fiber base, but Naofumi wasn't exactly an expert. He was starting to fear for the worst as he struggled to pull it off—not out of strength, but out of his might and will to see it for himself.

Itsuki walked over to the part where Naofumi had been holding and grabbed a nearby area. He glanced at Naofumi subtly and nodded, before he himself took a heavy breath. Like they were both in sync, they tugged gently three times before they ripped the tarp off the cage to see who had been making those noises.

"... What the actual fuck?"

"... Damn it. I really wanted my thoughts to be wrong."

Under the tarp, staying within the darkness—

—had been a young girl who didn't even look past the age of ten.

It was a girl with dirty, brown hair, ruffled as if it wasn't brushed in years. Two round ears on her head twitched weakly as she breathed heavily, recovering from her coughs. The light from her red eyes couldn't have been seen from his angle, and she slowly gazed upwards at the people who gave the dim luminosity to her cage—only to quickly avert her gaze out of fear. Though, it wasn't as if she had anywhere else to go, being chained up by a collar to the cage.

This was probably the first time Naofumi had ever come across a child that was being mistreated in such a way. She was practically skin and bones, malnourished past the point where it was safe.

"Ah, that one. Indeed, we've recently had her transported in from a noble who was renting her." Beloukas slowly walked back to the standstill heroes and glanced at the weakened child. "Though, her conditions has greatly suffered on the trauma of that man. Indeed, it might have been. The last few days, her condition has been deteriorating to the point where we might as well pull her from availability to do away with her."

"Even children?" Itsuki whispered in a subtle anger, glaring over towards Beloukas. His voice raised exponentially, but he knew it wouldn't have done any good. He simply needed to vent. "At this point, it shouldn't even matter if they're demi-humans or not! She's a child, for crying out loud! Does that mean nothing to you!?"

"She's merely taking up our resources at this point. We made various attempts to spruce up her health, so that she may be able to be sold accordingly, but no success was found. We've also noted severe panic attacks in the few nights she had stayed here. We never realized that her former master had done such a thorough job with her, but that's a mere part of business, indeed. You win some, and you lose some—just make sure you're winning more than losing."

"Business this, business that!" Itsuki's anger seeped into his teeth. "How skewed is your morality for you to even think of a child like some product that can be thrown away!? A child shouldn't be feeling such emotions of pain, suffering and loneliness!"

"A slave is nothing more than a tool, Bow Hero." A soft giggle escaped his breath for a moment. "Why in the heavens could I think twice about a tool?"

All in the meanwhile, Naofumi couldn't stop looking at the young girl. He couldn't believe that such a person had been trapped by these iron confines and he wondered how many like her had been underneath these tarps, within cells, or being held by other nobles and treated just the same as her. For crying out loud, she looked like she was on the verge of death.

As Naofumi kept gazing, the girl seemed to have noticed, trying to shrink herself down so that he would stop. In all honesty, Naofumi wanted to calm her down and tell her that everything would be alright—but it was difficult in a world like this one. She tried to cover her face with her arms, burying them in her legs, but it only made her various wounds, cuts, and bruises all the more prevalent.

"Shield Hero. I recommend you move on from her." The slave trader had echoed in his mind, but none of the words had actually reached him. "My staff predicts that she only has mere days to live now, even with the medicine we've given her. She isn't someone that could particularly help your cause, indeed—she can't. I want to provide you the best slave I could possibly—"

"How much?"

Itsuki turned his head slowly, widening his eyes in a pleasant and welcoming surprise. However, Itsuki knew what the consequences were if Naofumi had chosen this girl as his slave and Naofumi was willing to give it a shot. Even if he couldn't do anything about this slavery business, Naofumi must have realized that he could still do something.

"N-Naofumi…"

"Once again, I don't believe you'll be satisfied with the purchase. All sales are final, after all. Unless you can convince us to buy her back, but considering her condition—"

"The man asked you a question," Itsuki snarled, not even letting Beloukas have the opportunity to see his soured expression. "As a merchant to a customer, you should answer him truthfully."

"As I shall, indeed." Beloukas looked over towards the girl, as if he was judgining her on the spot and returning an approximation in mere seconds. He pushed up his glasses, coughing to clear his throat. "That demi-human will cost about 40 silver pieces. Indeed, that's her price."

Honestly, it didn't even matter to Naofumi if she cost one entire gold piece. He kept his eyes shifted onto the girl as he gave out his answer, one that was already decided before Beloukas had given him a price.

"I'll take her."

"Indeed. If that is what you want, then there will be no argument left. The customer always knows what they want in their products. Isn't that right?"

The man's whimsical voice certainly didn't match the mood of the two heroes who gazed at the sacred tanuki girl once more. She was frightened, as she tried to back up slowly against the cage's wall.

Beloukas came closer and had snapped his fingers, causing a crest to appear on her chest. She had a muffled scream and looked to be in pain, which turned the two heroes into hostility immediately.

"What the hell are you doing!?"

"Stop that at once!"

They both shouted as Beloukas calmly turned the numerous keys on his belt and took out a certain rusted one within the raging storm. Meanwhile, the girl had seemed to have stopped resisting as Beloukas opened the cage, beckoning her to come out. It took some time, but she eventually walked out of her prison with tears welling up in her eyes and a lack of steady breath. The slaver held onto her chains and tugged for her to follow him with unfaltering obedience.

"Sometimes, slaves need a small incentive to listen to their masters. Indeed, this ability will be transferred over to you once the binding process has been finished. Speaking of which, please follow me for the binding process to be completed."

Naofumi and Itsuki looked at the small child as she walked past them with sadness in their hearts. These were quite the complicated emotions swirling in their souls. On one hand, Naofumi wanted to release the girl from the suffering by freeing her as a slave, but he needed someone to fight for him so that he could become stronger to defend against the waves of destruction.

"We're about to go to hell for this, aren't we?"

"... No." Naofumi said with resolve. "I may be forcing her to fight for my own benefit, but as long as I have this shield, I won't let anything else hurt her anymore. I promise this upon my own life."

"Then make sure you protect her well, Shield Hero. That's the entire point of your weapon, isn't it?"

Naofumi held onto his shield as they followed Beloukas.

"Yeah. I hope so."

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

She wasn't talking.

It might have been that the agonizing screaming done during the binding process burnt out her vocal cords, but it was more likely that she was still afraid of her new master. It was revealed by Beloukas that she was second-hand, meaning that she was once owned by another person. Naofumi felt the heat rise up inside of him imagining all of the things that could have possibly happened. That fact that she was alive with all of these marks was a blessing in itself, or in her perspective, it might have been a curse.

The process itself had been rather simplistic. Naofumi gave a drop of his blood, in which one of the assistants pulled back the girl's collar and painted something that looked like a magic circle on her chest. It was crudely drawn, but once it made the round, the circle reformed itself and imprinted a better-looking version of the circle—not that it mattered.

In the meantime, Itsuki hadn't said a single word ever since he paid for the slave.

He would sometimes steal a glance every so often at the girl as they were following an escort that had been waiting for them out at the entrance, draped in a cloak similar to the one that stopped Itsuki's sudden pounce on Beloukas. However, he kept his eye on Itsuki as well. There would always be the expression of pity, but Naofumi couldn't explain it. There was another emotion hidden underneath that he couldn't determine, and it twisted Itsuki's face everytime it emerged from the depths.

As such, Naofumi couldn't say a single word in that atmosphere. It was too heavy to say anything, even if it was related.

"I guess this is where we part ways." Itsuki's hand clenched tightly and kept to his own body. "I-I need to think for a while. This entire thing was… It was too much for me."

They had reached the alleyway that they started in, as the escort scurried off into the main streets. Itsuki turned to the young girl and looked at his own hand as well. He steadily extended it over the girl's head as she whimpered and braced herself. However, all Itsuki wanted to remove a large piece of dirt that was lodged in her ear and tossed it aside to the ground before patting her twice on the head.

The girl seemed to be slightly confused, but her face tried to not show the weakness. Itsuki took his few steps backwards and turned away, raising his arm upwards and waving back to Naofumi gently.

"Good luck and I'll see you eventually. I know you'll take good care of the girl and I expect her to be by your side the next time we meet."

Naofumi looked over to the girl and nodded back to Itsuki.

"Yeah."

And with those words, Itsuki strolled into the streets and went out of view from Naofumi's sights.

Naofumi looked over to the girl once more.

She was only wearing the cloak that Beloukas humbly provided for a few bronzes, hiding the ruined and tattered clothes underneath. Honestly, he just wanted to never see that creep ever again. First thing that he should immediately do was to get the girl a proper outfit. He couldn't think of another place that he could go to except for Erhart's.

"C'mon. Let's go."

Her footsteps hesitated as she lurked behind Naofumi. Seeing the lack of movement, Naofumi crouched down to her and smiled gently, hoping that could win over some of his requests and suggestions—not demands or orders.

"It's going to be alright. I'm not going to hurt you."

She remained silent, but Naofumi extended his hand towards her. He knew he needed to show his intentions instead of telling her that. He allowed his kind spirit gloss over his words that were offered to her.

"My name's Naofumi Iwatani. Can I… Can I hear your name?"

Her voice was quiet, but Naofumi managed to hear the gentle sounds of her words.

"... Raphtalia."

Her hand hadn't attempted to meet Naofumi, but he was persistent. He slowly moved in and gently held onto Raphtalia's hand. It was bigger than hers, but he couldn't feel an ounce of softness from her skin. It was all too blemished by the dirt, but he didn't care. His hand still held on regardless of the shaking that she had been doing

"Let's go, Raphtalia. We're going to get you some clothes and clean you up a bit. Is that alright with you?"

Raphtalia looked at Naofumi's face and hesitated in answering his question, not knowing if it was too good to be true or not. However, she slipped and allowed her feelings to crash through her emotions.

She didn't say anything, but she nodded. Her round ears twitched slightly as her fluffy tail had a subtle wag. The shaking seemed to have slightly subsided. That was enough for Naofumi to know that her mind was still in the right place.

She may be someone that he'll need to train up to fight on his behalf, but it goes without saying that Naofumi wanted to give her back the hope that all children should have at her age.

And in some way, perhaps he would give himself hope in the process.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 023 : The Slave Girl**

[Naofumi] : "Raphtalia, I'm not looking to hurt you. I want to help you out, but I would be lying if I said that was the only motive here. I need you to help me out too."

[Raphtalia] "...?"

[Naofumi] : "I'm in a bit of a sticky situation and I needed someone to help me fight. I don't want to force this ultimum onto you, but I need you to fight on my behalf. I know you might be scared that a stranger wants you to do this, but I promise you that in return, I'll take good care of you. I won't let you suffer any more than you have so far."

[Raphtalia] : "…"

[Naofumi] : "... I guess it's rather hard to believe a stranger that just bought you, especially considering everything that you must have experienced. I'm not asking you to believe in my words yet. All I'm asking is a chance."

[Raphtalia] : "_..._"

[Raphtalia] : '_He's… feels different from the others. I feel like I can believe him... Who is he?_'

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**


	13. Chapter 1-12 : Planning the Offensive

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

A heavy slam had slugged itself right into the floor. An armoured man in a steel plating had been the one to make such a commotion as he angrily glared to his apparent leader. His big body shape in comparison to the other people in the room had been prevalent.

"You're insane, Sir Itsuki!"

His low-pitch shout, comparable to what a grizzly bear would sound like with human speech, erupted throughout the room giving a fright to Itsuki and making his falter in his place. However, his other two party members had remained still, as if they already knew this was going to happen.

"W-What do you mean?" Even so, Itsuki couldn't even fathom it. He couldn't believe his ears. "This is your own country you're talking about! It's clearly being oppressive to those people! Even children are being taken in as slaves, just because they're demi-humans! Do you not feel anything for them!?"

"With all due respect, I don't care! They're slaves for a good reason! They're simply lowly demi-humans, not even worth the dirt at the bottom of my shoe!" Mald growled as if Itsuki had crossed his personal beliefs. "They aren't people, Sir Itsuki! Stop referring to them as such! If I was you, I'd forget about doing anything with the slaves in the first place!"

Itsuki gazed back at the agitated Mald. He didn't know why he had been acting so offensively like this, but all he mentioned was that they should look into saving those slaves at the trader.

Mald was the frontliner of their group, wielding a sword into battle. He was very adequate at his main role as a tank, drawing the attention of the monsters with ease for his allies to take down. However, his attitude had much to be developed on.

In a few days, he's already been in countless arguments with the local mage of the team and he always speaks as he's high and mighty, even when he's being respectful to the Bow Hero himself. Itsuki always thought that Mald just hasn't had time to adjust to the new team, but now—he saw that there was a bigger problem to address. Perhaps it was part of the bigger problem here.

"Keep it down, Mald," the woman with the red bandana had sighed while standing close to the room's door. Her eyes leered at the man lazily. "You're going to disturb the other guests at the inn. If you're going to shout, you could at least be mindful of the volume."

A groan came from the bed, where a mage had been sitting upon it with his hood down. His rustic hair had been showing, opposed to how he typically wears his hood in the streets. He had been checking his right ear, trying to pop a sound using his palm—all with an annoyed and tired expression.

"Never mind the other guests," he said, "I think I just lost some of my own hearing from that shouting."

"I can't help it if Sir Itsuki had just lost his mind! Demi-humans are nothing more than the monsters that we slay in the wild. They should be fortunate that we even allow them to stay as slaves!"

Itsuki could only let his blood begin to boil, transitioning his silent gaze to an angered glare of himself.

"How the hell could you even say that, Mald!?"

"From my angle, it's you that I can't believe! Why would the Bow Hero be lowering his hand to the likes of those lowly creatures!?"

"What's unbelievable about trying to save people!?"

"You're the one trying to save those who shouldn't be saved in the first place!"

The mage wryly glanced at the woman who clicked her tongue tiredly as the two were mindlessly arguing off their own emotions. However, all the woman appeared to be doing was lighting a small cigar from her pocket with some of her access to fire magic. The mage blinked confusingly as she took a huff and blew it out, before she twisted her wrist and flicked the cigar right between the two shouters.

As the cigar flew within the perspectives of Itsuki and Mald, it sparked and blew up in a sudden light, causing Itsuki and the man—and the mage, to an extent—to falter and cease everything they were doing and take cover from the bright flare. The cigar had dissipated into ashes, trickling down within the air as it piled up on the ground between them.

"I told you two to calm down. You're making a ruckus for the other guests."

Itsuki and Mald had been groaning from the visual flank, but the mage himself had rolled back on the bed, making some subtle screaming as he rolled side to side, holding back his eyes.

"Oi, what the hell!? Why was I taken down in that, Kojeel!? I didn't do anything!"

"Welst, you should have seen that coming. You had a vantage point in the room."

"I didn't think you'd throw the damn cigar and imbue with light magic! Not only did I go partially deaf, I might be partially blind too!"

It took a moment for Itsuki and Mald to recover from the flashbang.

It took Welst a bit longer, but Kojeel hadn't been concerned about him much. In fact, they were ignoring Welst's dramatical complaints for the most part, aside from Itsuki who glanced back to see if he was really fine before returning to the matter at hand. Over the past few days, Welst had made a common gesture to complain, but he had probably shown the most tenacity out of the group so far.

"You can't be serious…! Mald, I honestly assumed better from you, so don't be telling me that my assumptions for you were wrong. I thought you were someone wanting to fight with justice, as you claimed on our first day together."

He glanced over to Kojeel who didn't even bother to move from her spot, taking out another cigar and started to smoke this one properly instead of using it as ammunation.

"Kojeel, I trust that you have your judgements in the right place! How do you feel about saving these slaves!? Tell Mald that he's wrong!"

Kojeel rolled her shoulders and sighed out a puff of smoke.

"Listen, Sir Itsuki."

Her voice had been calm and controlled in comparison to everyone else in the room.

"A country of humans would never give human rights over to monsters. Monsters are to be given a separate law, denied human rights. Seeing that, no one in this country would ever complain against the fact that we treat beings like balloons and usapils different from our neighbours." As much as Itsuki understood Kojeel's words, he didn't want to hear them. "All that is left is where the definition of monster draws the line. If it's commonly regarded in Melromarc that demi-humans are simply monsters given human forms, the bottom line is that they're monsters and should be treated as such."

Among the week that he got to know his party members, he would have said that Kojeel was probably the closest one that felt like a professional in the adventurer's field. Her spear work was one of the best that Mald and Welst had apparently seen. Her precision on the frontline had been almost as locked as Itsuki's arrow shots, making her probably the strongest one on the team. She didn't brag much about it, merely staying humble and keeping mainly to herself, but Itsuki was quick to realize that she was very dependable.

However, the answer coming from Kojeel shocked him.

"I-I… I didn't think you'd share the same mentality as Mald on the slaves, Kojeel."

Kojeel kept a steady gaze upon Itsuki before closing her eyes, taking a deep breath between her puffs.

"You're free to go play hero for the slaves and be revered among them, but you're not going to solve the internal problem that you personally see in the kingdom's structure. It's simply going to return, one way or another."

Itsuki gritted his teeth, merely hearing Kojeel speak.

"Then I'll just bring this matter to the ki—!" He instinctively stopped, as his memories held him back from continuing. It was foolish to depend on a king that would let this happen in the first place, not to mention a king that would help condemn Naofumi. "I-I'll just do something about it, alright!? I'll go and convince people that it's—"

"Though, I'd advise you to not make any attempts to even change the core fundamentals of it," Kojeel continued, cutting off Itsuki as if she wasn't even heeding his words. "Politics and society structuring is a dangerous game to be playing and not something you should be trying to do within your first week in this world. If you want to be famous, you can increase your renown by effectively doing guild requests and such."

His mouth was wide open as he had assumptions be thrown right back to him. "I'm not doing this for fame! Demi-humans are people! They think, speak, and feel emotions the same way we do! That's why I can't stand this! There's absolutely no justice here and I need to deliver it!"

"Them being slaves is justice," Mald growled. "What else do you want?

"What did they ever do to you!?"

"... Hey, Sir Itsuki?" Welst raised his hand like a student waiting for a teacher, all while groaning from his own side of the visual attack. He was still rubbing his left eye out from the apparent collateral damage. "Look, I pretty much have zero weight in these types of conversations, but I should probably give you some context before you keep blowing your lid. Do you remember how we talked about the Calamity Mage and the Wise Sage King back in the guild hall with the Spear Hero?"

"H-Huh?" Itsuki raised his eyebrows. "What does that have to do with the problem at hand?"

"Well, you should probably know that demi-human discrimination was already a considerable problem before the Siltvelt War, but it grew to a new height within Melromarc after it ended. Remember how I briefly touched upon it in my summary of it? I think you should know that the enemy that wanted world domination, Siltvelt, was a country of demi-humans."

"So some demi-humans were enemies back then! Big deal! That doesn't mean that all of them should be taken as slaves!"

"I know a few demi-humans myself and they're rather good people. I'm not saying that all of them should be kept as slaves like a certain brickhead here, but what I am saying is that this is just the state of things right now. The demi-humans that are in Melromarc are either enslaved, a certified adventurer of Zeltoble, or protected on contained lands. There have been people that have been wanting to make changes for some time now, and you certainly aren't the first one."

"Of course you know some of those rats, you worthless mage."

Welst narrowed his eyes at the armoured man.

"When a stray magic spell flies into your direction next time, don't be looking at me."

"Bite me, you shrimp."

"No thanks, I don't want to get any life threatening illnesses. I want to live a long life here."

Itsuki didn't really know what the entire problem was between the both of them and it sounded like they'd never actually met each other before they were called to the castle to join up with one of the Cardinal Heroes. That literally could only mean that merely had bad chemistry with each other and this notion made Itsuki worried about the future of the team as Kojeel sighed in the background from the childish argument.

"It's as Welst mentions," she added on, trying to cease fire the mage and the frontliner. They both clicked their tongues, turning their heads away from one another. "You've only come to our world recently, Sir Itsuki. You shouldn't try and attempt to change things as you please. I don't know how it worked back in your world, but doing that here is a good way to send yourself to the gallows."

"I-I'm a hero, though!"

"Yeah, and so was that Shield Demon apparently," Mald scoffed.

"Which is why you should be more wary than acting hastily, in my opinion," Kojeel answered, trying to turn Mald's offhand comment into something more constructive. It was no real secret that Mald despised the Shield Hero, but Itsuki knew it had to do with stigma with the Church of Three Heroes rather than Naofumi himself. If Mald actually came to meet Naofumi, he'd have another opinion all together—Itsuki had hoped though.

Kojeel went on. "You have a lot of responsibility on your hands, Sir Itsuki. Even more so with the Shield Hero being condemned by the results of the trial. We wouldn't want another hero to be starting an uproar in the land. If overthrowing slavery of demi-humans is truly your end goal, you certainly won't be seen as a hero to everyone."

"But that's not what I'm trying to—"

"I understand that, Sir Itsuki. You want to do this for the sake of your justice, not for any personal gain. However, I'm telling you right now that there will be issues for heroes that don't look to be heroes in the eyes of certain groups. Surely, you remember the Church of the Three Heroes from Aldrecht's quick rambling."

At that moment, Itsuki understood what Kojeel was trying to say. Indeed, she had been one of the most intelligential members of their party that sorted out all the ins-and-outs and this instance pretty much showed that. That wasn't to put Welst or Mald down on their reputation, but if they could get along with each other a bit more, then they would be a solid team.

However, Itsuki didn't need Kojeel to say any further. It already sounds similar to Zellus' warning back in the alleyway, where he warns them to be careful about their personal information spreading about town, open to the ears of the Church. However, Kojeel's warning came with a certain implication.

"W-Wait…! Are you saying that the Church of Three Heroes keeps slaves!?"

"I'll do you one better since my first step-mother was part of the Church of Three Heroes and tried to forced the entire religion onto my chest," Welst responded. "They don't keep slaves at all. If they did, that would be a blessing—a messed-up blessing, but one nevertheless. Either way, the teachings of the Church can be summarized as 'demi-humans are bad, screw them all to damnation'."

"W-What…?"

"In other words…" Welst straightened his back as he pushed up his thumb, swiping it across his neck while intimating a dying noise. "That."

"A fate too weak if I have to say so myself," Mald growled, crossing his arms. "If I was in their shoes, I'd take the time to let them suffer and—"

"Mald, shut up." Itsuki's voice had been deadly and cold, just as his stare had been towards the party member. "I don't want to hear another word from you until the conversation is done."

Mald grunted and started to walk for the door.

"Then I'm taking my leave."

Kojeel moved out of the way for him to approach the exit. Before he pulled on the door, he turned his head back one more time.

"I hope you get your mind in the right place by tomorrow, Sir Itsuki. I respect you, but if you keep talking insanity like this, I'll have no other choice than to leave the party. Good luck finding a frontliner as good as me if I do choose to leave."

Mald closed the door as the three remaining party members glanced at each other. There was a brief silence, but Welst heavily sighed, breaking the tension.

"There goes an extremist. Honestly. I wonder why the king ever chose him to be a part of a Cardinal Hero's party. I even doubt that he's even a part of the Church of Three Heroes—he feels like he's _that _much of an asshole."

"It's his skills," Kojeel immediately answered. "He may underestimate his opponents too easily, but he's surely a force to be reckoned with on the frontline. He might have been cocky by saying that, but I can't blame him for having such a mindset. On skills alone, he might be eligible for a high knight position in Melromarc's Army, if not for the fact they have to be tested on attitude as well."

"Hearing that Mald has skills and experience," Welst said, air-quoting the nouns, "really grinds my nerves. How the hell does toxicity get a chance to party with the Cardinal Heroes? He must have either sucked up major ass to the King or his father has close connections with the King to make an arrangement. Both seem pretty valid, if I have to say so myself."

"Welst," Itsuki sighed, "I know you have strong negativities toward Mald, probably for good reasons, but we won't get anywhere if we keep having internal problems like this. I would like to at least keep this party together for a week before ending up with a disbanding because I couldn't manage my party members' attitudes."

"Please tell Mald that. I would love for him to stop messing with me just because he sees me as inferior." He let go of his hair letting it all fall back to place. "Once that happens, I'll happily oblige, Sir Itsuki."

"... I'll try to."

Kojeel began walking towards the window and opened it up to let in a slight breeze as the two guys were talking. She dipped her head out to the afternoon light and started to smoke out there, leaning halfway out of the windowsill.

"Sir Itsuki," she said, "will you still pursue the breakout of the slaves, knowing that you might not even be able to change anything?"

Itsuki sat back down on a nearby chair and thought about it himself. If what they all said was true, then there wasn't a real point to this apparent justice after all. There were so many restrictions that lied in the way, but as Itsuki thought about it and the room was left silent for him to do so, it felt even harder to make a decision.

Itsuki believed he knew the difference between an achievable goal and a hopeless dream, but he couldn't determine if trying to free this country from its slavery problem had fallen in the latter or the former.

He did note that Beloukas' men seemed to be stronger than him if they were able to yank Itsuki back to where he started running from, but Itsuki immediately sent that thought off as not having enough power. If one didn't have power, then there was no way that one could confidently exert the righteous order.

Perhaps he refused to believe that it was hopeless. Perhaps that was what had made him hesitate.

Nevertheless, he still didn't know the answer to a question he wanted to ask himself. He knew what Mald's personal beliefs were and where Welst stood considering how he spoke about the Church with a growl and the demi-humans somewhat fondly, but all that he couldn't understand was Kojeel's placement. Now that he could think about it past his emotions, all she gave was an objective point-of-view, not necessarily her own.

"Hey, Kojeel? I don't think you ever gave a clear answer. What do you think about the slavery in Melromarc? Don't you think it's messed up?"

She blew a grey smoke out into the outside world as she blankly gazed out of the window. She tended to the cigar for a brief moment, but leered downwards before she released the cigar and dropped it into the streets before. As it fell down, that cigar had as well burnt to ashes and flew off into the gentle breeze.

"It's because I don't have an opinion. Whether it exists or not, it doesn't really affect me."

"Then what do you think my course of action should be as someone on the sidelines? I really want to save the slaves from their fate, but everything you've been saying makes…" Itsuki clicked his tongue, hating to admit it. If Ren had been here, he'd be asking him instead. "It makes sense."

She didn't bother to look at the distressed and frustrated expression of the Bow Hero.

"I'm not the leader here. I'm only here to watch over you until you can get stronger. Do what you think is right, but I'm telling you that you shouldn't be heading into a situation blindly. That's the best way to get killed."

* * *

**)**—**(\**IV**| Chapter 1-12 |**IV**/)|**—**(  
)\\( Planning the Offensive )/(**

* * *

Ren stared at the maroon-coloured alcohol, poured out and served with some type of exotic fruit. He wanted to say that it was the equivalent to a lime, but the odd colour and shape forced him to disagree. He didn't dare to ask about such trivial information to the bartender, even though the bartender looked as if he wasn't doing anything important, reading a book behind the counter to wait on future customers.

The man was old, but couldn't have been in his elder years yet. His hair was starting to become grey, but his eyes were still sharp. He occasionally glanced toward the three men, sitting along the stools before him before turning to the next page. Ren couldn't shake off the feeling that he was listening to every single word that they were going to say, but the atmosphere told him that the bartender couldn't care less.

He divided his attention between the bartender and the drink. The latter had been sitting in front of Ren, untouched for the last minute. The vapour from the bitter chill already started to fog up the glass, minimally though. However, the aroma of the alcohol had been the main thing to put him off, if not for the fact that he remembered what his limits were.

"You're not drinking that?"

Batka sat beside him and pointed to Ren's drink.

Zellus had gone ahead and ordered for everyone without much outside input, so Ren had been rather stuck with the outcome. He hadn't even started to debrief on anything yet; all he's been doing was chugging down his orders for the past minute and Ren had front row seats to it.

Ren sighed, leering at his party member.

"Not really. I don't drink."

"You should have said something, Sir Ren. Here, I'll take it off your hands." Batka reached over to his glass and slided it over to himself, the coaster included. "You have anything in mind you want to drink as a refreshment? I know Lord Aldrecht likes to provide tea during meetings to prevent anyone from getting too parched, so you should probably get something here too."

'_Lord Aldrecht, huh…_'

During the walk over to the bar, Zellus had revealed the true identity of Batka. Like Zellus, Batka had been a member of Melromarc's knighthood and ranked as a high knight. He was sent within the hero's party to serve and protect the Cardinal Hero of their assignment by the king, which raised more flags than what Ren would have liked.

Whether they were green or red was another detail he had to stamp out, but he was confident that Motoyasu and Itsuki also had a knight in their own parties, disguising themselves as normal adventurers. Obviously, Naofumi didn't get the innate protection from the king and that really doubled his sins against his crimes on the Shield Hero.

Ren looked up to the menu above, written in text with prices labelled next to the item. Unfortunately, he still couldn't read it. He already discovered that the holy weapons were auto-translating their speech to match the people of Melromarc, but that didn't fare the same way for reading; the text was permanently in the native language.

He decided to take a shot in the dark.

"Is there any soda in this world?"

Batka furrowed his brows and tilted his head. "S-So… da…?"

"Carbonated drinks?"

"S-Sorry, Sir Ren. I… I don't think we have those here…"

"Actually, we have something close to it." Zellus intruded on the conversation and beckoned the bartender. Zellus waited patiently as the man wrapped up the last bits of the page before turning it and sliding a bookmark in. "Another thing to put on my tab."

"Sure thing, Zellus," the bartender croaked, walking up to the bar. "What can I get you?"

"Grab some Fizzy Fruited Brew for our good man here, but hold the rucolu fruit and replace it with something sour. Nothing alcoholic."

"Alright then," the bartender nodded and went to work to make the custom drink for Ren.

Batka looked at Zellus in surprise.

"Zellus, you know what a soda is?"

"You can call it intuition. Besides, I've heard the term get thrown around loosely in Zeltoble for Fizzy Fruited Brews back when I wasn't a part of the knights. It's a much shorter way to call the drink, but I don't think it ever caught on in popularity. I just remembered the word when Ren mentioned it and connected the dots."

"Sometimes, I forget you were a technically drifting wanderer before the times of your knighthood. It would make sense that you would know about these things."

"While we wait around," Ren said, "how about we get down to business? You were enjoying yourself plenty already, Zellus." He rested his arms on the countertop and glared at Zellus from the corner of his eyes. "What are you calling us here for? What's the plan you have in mind for the Church of Three Heroes?"

Ren bit back his questions. He obviously wanted them to get answered, but there was probably a bigger question that needed to be moved out of the way before anything else.

"_No_, here's my real question. What did you find out about the Church and their links to Naofumi's trial?"

Zellus reached into his exposed chest and pulled out a folder that had paperwork in it. He tossed it in front of Ren as he went for another sip before he explained what it was.

"When a criminal case occurs, paperwork has to be filed out and organized. All evidence is recorded and considering Lothringen was the one who was in charge in conducting the investigation, you can be sure that there was no stone unturned. On the surface level, that is."

Ren pulled the file to himself and opened it up to see the written reports in handwriting. He could feasibly make out Naofumi's name somehow, but everything else, like the menu, had been gibberish.

Honestly, he had no idea that being illiterate would cause so much difficulty. He'll have to get that problem fixed one day when he has the time.

"Don't worry if you can't read it for now," Zellus said, as if he was reading the hero's mind. "I merely wanted you to check the authenticity of it alongside Batka. He could read; he can tell you if it's the right document or not."

As Bakta scooted over to glance at the words, a gasp escaped his mouth.

"T-This is the real deal." Batka pointed at the words Ren figured to be his roommate's name. He began reading aloud. "Naofumi Iwatani, the Shield Hero. Conducted on the bases of attempted sexual assault against Malty Melromarc under the name Myne Sophia."

"See, it's the real thing."

"... _Malty Melromarc_?" Ren frowned as he heard Batka's reading and repeated it in his head, to make sure he was hearing properly. "Myne isn't her real name?"

"Ah, crap!" Batka covered his mouth, but the truth was already laid out there. "I wasn't supposed to say that! My mouth just read it automatically!"

"You know something about this, Batkas?" He narrowed his eyes onto his party member.

"I-It's Batka."

"Don't change the damn subject."

Batka nervously scratched his head before, glancing over to Zellus for visual assistance. However, all Zellus did was flick his hand to his direction, dismissing the cry for help and leaving him to the shark.

"W-Well, I guess it doesn't matter now. It'll end up causing more problems than solving them if I keep quiet about it now." Batka slumped over with a sigh.

"Here you go, Sir. One Fizzy Fruited Brew."

The bartender came back after his mixture and slid the new drink before him. It was in a complete contrast compared to the alcohol and the first thing to catch his attention was the bubbles hanging around the clearish liquid. If he hadn't been any of the wiser, he would have sincerely thought that this drink was basically a soda.

The ice gave it a refreshing surge when he held onto it as he sipped on it to have a taste.

He was surprised. Other than the fruity aroma, it tasted exactly like soda. Hell, it could have even passed as one of those fruit gimmick sodas that he typically finds at the corner convenience stores, but now wasn't the time to be distracted by such thoughts.

Without budging his expression, he placed down the drink and turned back to Batka to hear what he had to say.

"Don't leave anything out," Ren sternly said. "If I figure out that you intentionally tucked something away, you can be certain that I won't be pleased."

Batka nodded. Whether the weak threat worked or not, it was the only thing Ren could think of in the flow of the moment, but Batka was wanting to open up either way.

"Alongside the common knowledge of the higher knights, I can only tell you what the king told me since that's my limited knowledge on the situation."

Batka turned to hold his drink in his hands, but before he could mutter his explanation, Zellus leaned onto the counter and hijacked his words.

"Well, Ren? You heard the name right," he cheekily smirked. "Who do you think Malty Melromarc is? I'm sure you can figure it out. C'mon, take your best guess!"

Honestly, Ren had his assumptions already by hand and if Zellus was testing him like this, chances were that his assumptions were already correct, not that he needed affirmation about that specific piece of detail.

"I'd be an idiot to not have a grasp at her identity. I've met her once before during the first day out. I haven't forgotten the fact that she completely forgot to tell Naofumi about monster drops and partying up. Without context, I would have assumed she was a complete newbie, but now I see it. She acted like a newbie _because_ she _was indeed_ a newbie."

Ren still couldn't believe that Naofumi wasn't even suspicious that somebody would sabotage him like that. If Ren never said anything, Naofumi wouldn't even notice until it was too late.

"And there's her real name. It's the same as the country, but more importantly, it's the same last name as the king. I would be a fool to not see the connection."

Ren took the moment to down another sip of the soda-like drink, feeling the fizzy liquid slide down his throat and giving him a small jolt of energy in his body. He placed down the glass heavily on the coaster and closed his eyes.

"Myne Sophia, otherwise known as Malty Melromarc, is the princess of this country."

"Well done. Quite the detective," Zellus clapped.

"Now, can we stop playing games here?"

Ren stole glances at both Batka and Zellus before his eyes returned to the file. He started flipping through the pages to see if there was anything he could figure out, but nothing was there. He figured that if Batka was preparing to be open about it, he probably didn't have any good information. In that case, Ren wanted to know about some of the holes that opened up from the revelation.

"Tell me _why_ the princess was within a party by herself with the Shield Hero. Even if Naofumi was supposed to be a Cardinal Hero, it wouldn't have made any sense for her to be there, especially if the king was assigning knights to cover for their weak early levels. Unless there's an ulterior motive at hand."

"Well, I wouldn't know," Batka shrugged. "All I was ordered to do was keep an eye on the Cardinal Hero that I was assigned to and protect him. I would send reports in secret every so often about the status of our group and how you were faring so far, though I don't think I'll be doing that in secret anymore."

"You don't even know why the princess was there?"

"Believe me, Sir Ren. I was just as surprised as the other knights when I saw her face in the throne room. More so when I realized that the Shield Hero didn't have a knight to protect him, but when she introduced herself under another name, I thought that it was all under control. Especially when the king and Lord Aldrecht were moving along like normal."

Ren highly doubted Aldrecht's behaviour could be constituted as normal.

"You seem awfully alert about the princess," Zellus pointed out. "Any particular reason?"

"Should I have another obvious reason to be suspicious towards a girl that cried wolf?"

"A... girl that cried wolf?"

Batka mumbled to himself the odd phrase, but Zellus turned about to get his attention.

"The Sword Hero believes that the princess might have lied."

"Against the Shield Hero?" Batka's eyes widened, taken aback from the revelation. "The first princess would never do such such a terrible act!"

"And for the Shield Hero to attempt a crime against a random girl?" Ren grunted. "Not even in a million years. He wouldn't even hurt a fly."

"_Enough_ about the princess," Zellus sighed, shaking his head. "We can deal with that issue another day whether she's lying or not or if it's against her will if so. For now, there are issues with the evidence that I've seen."

Zellus swiped the files from Ren's reach and started to weave through the papers himself. He started passing the specific papers to him and nudged the hero to get Batka to read it for him, but it wouldn't have mattered anyways. Zellus was already starting to describe the pages he gave.

"Those are the witness testimonies."

"I remember these," Batka said as Ren flipped through about three pages that covered those details. "Captain Lothringen brought this up immediately after the testimonies of the victim and culprit. My memory from the trial is a bit hazy, but if the document is right, it should all be here. Let's see what it said..."

"Four employees, one customer. All sighted past midnight."

Batka quickly scanned the paper and gave Ren a nod with Zellus' response, indicating that he wasn't wasn't lying.

"An argument was brought up that it was highly suspicious that five people were able to spot the Shield Hero during that time, but that can happen sometimes. There's always the difference between a structure and a coincidence."

"So what's the issue with this if it's not for the original argument?"

"Oh, the argument was definitely right." Both Ren and Batka frowned as Zellus cheerfully chuckled. "Had to find those people again and beat the crap out of them for the real answers, in which they all made it up!"

They both stared at Zellus expressionlessly, unbelieving their ears.

"Z-Zellus? Is that legal? From what Captain Lothringen said, I thought we weren't supposed to harm witnesses and civilians in investigations…"

"I mean, we torture criminals for information all the time. Probably isn't much of a difference, except it _is_ pretty illegal. Lothringen says that the normal citizen has a tendency to give in to whatever the demands are when their face is being smashed in. They don't have the same tenacity as me or you."

"T-Then, how could you be sure…?"

"Because they all pointed to the same person when I asked about who had told them to lie within the investigation. If two people say the same name, it's likely a coincidence. Say what you want, but I don't think five different people pointing to one name is a coincidence anymore."

"And what's this name?" Ren asked. "It's definitely a lead if I ever saw one."

"She's a well-known nun in the Church of Three Heroes and one of the faces of the community, so I can't really reach her without triggering any red flags." Zellus drank the rest of his drink and pushed it in front, beckoning the bartender for a refill. "Her name is Altara."

"Altara?" Batka rubbed his chin, trying to remember the name. "Yeah, I heard about her around, but not much. Didn't realize she was with the Church of Three Heroes though, but I guess when you're not really listening to all those religious things, you tend to tune them out."

"This Altara person would be entrusted to provide tasks like these ones. Everyone that I beat up for information were also in the Church of Three Heroes. In fact, the inn that the Shield Hero slept in was owned by a devout member of the Church of Three Heroes."

"This is critical information, Zellus!"

Batka stood up, almost knocking the papers out from Ren's hands.

"_Geez, careful_," Ren groaned in annoyance, but Batka didn't notice his low mutters.

"You should tell Captain Lothringen about this! I knew something was fishy when the Shield Hero was brought into the throne room!"

Ren followed, placing the papers back on the desk flatly. Despite Batka's claims that the princess wouldn't lie, it felt like he turned around. Though, he could have been in Motoyasu's position, believing in both Naofumi and Myne.

"Batkas has a point."

"Batka, Sir Ren."

Ren substantially ignored him.

"Why are you heading to us with this information when you could easily reach the man who led the investigation?"

"I uhm…" Zellus scratched his head. "I might get in some trouble for beating civilians up on a technical account. Lothringen always wants to know where information is being sourced from, after all."

"Ah. Right." Batka sighed, sitting back down.

"So? They lied in a vital court case. Doesn't that mean anything?"

"You see, I take the entire 'no witnesses' thing to heart when I'm doing these types of things and frankly, it was incredibly difficult to wait until they were alone to subdue them into talking."

Ren did not like where this was going.

"Don't tell me you—"

"So… I… didn't wait for them when they were alone." Zellus turned his head away from the others, but Ren could see that he was enjoying seeing their reactions. "I just broke into their houses and took care of everyone in there before they had a chance to fight back."

"..."

"What the fucking hell, Zellus?"

Batka looked as if he was frozen in place, but Ren was starting to feel a massive headache from the insanity of this knight. The extravagant knight merely sat and caught his drink as the bartender slided a new one to him, absorbing the energy with his satisfied smirk.

"Subtlety isn't your strong suit, is it, Zellus?"

"I was never the type to plan things out properly," Zellus responded, smirking with a seemingly nervous chuckle. He cheered the drink up to them. "All I know is how to fight. Tell me to clear a room without anyone escaping and that's right up my alley!"

Ren sighed out of exasperation and passed the papers back to Batka to hold.

"Alright, what else did you find out? Hopefully, you didn't break into private property to grab the next set of information."

"Here's the next thing."

Zellus pulled out another set of papers and handed them to Ren once he placed down his drink. At this point, Ren didn't even know what he bothered to look at the pages; he already made it clear to himself that he couldn't read the damn things. He passed them onto Batka after his delay, causing him to read it out loud for the hero.

"This… involves the pendant that was shown during the trial, the same one that was given to the Shield Hero as a part of his initial equipment." Batka flipped to the next page. "Oh, that's right. The Shield Hero entered the trial without his given armour and claimed it disappeared from his room. The princess was the one that managed to snag the pendant as her own evidence."

"I honestly don't think that's how it happened, consider the circumstances right now," Ren mulled. "The princess must have gotten that pendant from another source somehow."

"Well, you should take a look at this evidence here." Zellus passed two documents this time to Ren and without hesitation, the hero continued its movement towards the other eligible reader. "This one wasn't brought up in the trial from what I heard."

"The locks on the victim's door had been broken apart," Batka read. "The rest of the paperwork is just the specifications of the lock and the inn's own documentation on it. There's a few lines about how it was broken and it's completely busted. It doesn't look like there's anything special on this one; sounds pretty clear cut that the culprit broke it."

"Except it isn't."

"What do you mean, Sir Ren?"

Zellus pulled his drink closer to him. "Ah, so you already see what's wrong with that?"

"Naofumi doesn't know how to pick locks."

In return, the knight looked disappointed in Ren's answer. "Erhm, not exactly, but that's pretty good to know. There's actually a concrete reason as to why your friend couldn't have broken that lock." Zellus then gestured a finger as if he was using it to scroll through a menu. "It has to do something with Status Magic, believe or not."

"What about Status Magic?"

"Annoyingly, it's what dominates this world. Everything concerns itself with numbers. If your stats are high enough, you can do about anything beyond the normal without a second thought." Zellus spoke as if he was depressed by the notion.

"Beyond the normal?" Batka had been the one looking at Zellus confusingly. "I obviously understand the premise of Status Magic, but what's this 'normal' you're referring to, Zellus? Is that the average level of the everyday person you're referring to?"

"Don't… worry about that, Batka."

Zellus' expression was concealed and unlike his falsehood of turning away for a reaction out of the group, he clearly intended not to let them read his true emotions on the subject matter. It made Ren a little suspicious, but Zellus moved on without another moment wasted.

"Anyways, the Shield Hero isn't known for being much of an offensive fighter, is he?"

"He told me that they were all low numbers." Really, Ren should have said that it was a _single number_, but he didn't want to draw to Naofumi's weakness too tightly from Zellus' question.

"Then he probably has a low strength stat and without a high number, he wouldn't be able to get close to breaking the lock."

"The Shield Hero could have taken another weapon and—"

"Not possible." Ren interrupted Batka's suggestion, briefly holding the holy sword on his back. "All of us heroes are stuck with the weapon we were summoned with. Naofumi can't use anything else other than the holy shield. He'll get zapped if he tries to."

"I-I didn't know that…"

"It slightly contradicts what the princess was saying back in the throne room according to her testimony that Lothringen recorded." Zellus passed yet another sheet of paper to Ren who had treated it like a hot potato, throwing over to Batka. "She mentions that she allowed the Shield Hero to enter after he knocked and even escaped through a window. No real opportunity for lock breaking, now was there?"

"What, seriously?" Batka looked at the paper given on top of the stack he was already swamped with. "I could have sworn she said something about a skirmish and trying to push the Shield Hero out into the hall. She locked him out and breaking that lock was how it got damaged."

"Where did you hear this?"

"Around the castle after the trial. It was never brought up during it, but that was apparently to words from her mouth."

"_Probably crying to Motoyasu, if anything…_"

"Sir Ren, did you say something?"

He shook his head, taking in another gulp of his soda-like beverage.

"Now, this is where things start to get interesting. I actually checked up on the inn the other day to find out that they were replacing _two_ locks. One for the room of the victim and one that belonged to the room of the _culprit_. This detail wasn't recorded in Lothringen's investigations somehow."

Ren started to piece things together by himself. "If Naofumi's door was broken, then the idea that his stuff didn't simply disappear, but was _stolen_ becomes more of a factor. Myne could have taken the pendant there, alongside the side of Naofumi's stuff."

"The princess wouldn't steal!"

Batka was increasingly becoming more annoying in Ren's ears, reminding him of a certain, indecisive white knight that was also the Spear Hero, but before Ren would get a word out, Zellus was the one to retort.

"Then we won't consider that option." Ren noticed how Zellus didn't outright deny it. "If you want to believe in the princess, then it's more plausible that a member of the Church took Naofumi's gear and used it to disguise himself as the Shield Hero to gain access to the victim's room."

Zellus held his hand out to Batka, beckoning him to return the papers to which he did promptly.

"There's actually street sightings that claim that a man holding a similarly-described armour set was moving towards the Church." Zellus filed the papers back in order before slapping it shut. "I have a theory. The Shield Hero's equipment is somewhere within the Church's premise."

"What makes you think they haven't destroyed it yet?"

"Call it a hunch." Zellus pointed his thumb to himself as he tucked the folder into his clothes from Ren's question. "You know, my hunches are pretty good!"

"Seems like a weird assumption to make," Ren scoffed.

"And we come to the real reason why I called the both of you here today."

Zellus reached for his drink, chugging it down to half before slamming the glass back onto the counter with a cheerful whiff of his breath.

"I need help sneaking into the Church of Three Heroes."

"Just to see if your hunch is correct?" Ren asked.

"Actually, you'll be the ones checking that out. I have another task I need to deal with while I'm there that is more important." Zellus turned around on his stool. "Once I finish up, the Church is going to land on a high alert around my area. I'll be able to escape with ease, but I wouldn't be able to easily return to the premise."

"Then look around for the armour set first. Doesn't sound like rocket science."

"Actually, I was planning on using the high alert as a diversion. I'm trying to keep this operation as quiet as possible and despite the predicted alert, they won't be able to realize what's happening. In the meanwhile, the other areas are going to be slimmer in guards, so you'll be able to move around much easier."

"W-Wait, let me get this straight!" Batka was in disbelief over Zellus' request. "You want us to break into the Church of Three Heroes!? That sounds ridiculous!"

"Look, it's an order from the king. Well, not directly since I came up with the plan, but he was the one to give it the 'okay'. Feel free to pass this up if you want, but something tells me the Sword Hero isn't going to agree on your stance."

In a way, Zellus had been right, but not in the way that the knight might have been thinking. Ren's mind flashed the image of the book that was cradled in the nun's hand when he was looking into the Church that one day and he told himself that he needed to check it out somehow. And as such, his opportunity to find it and take it for himself has finally arrived, alongside the chance to scavenge more evidence against the false accusations against Naofumi.

He wasn't doing this for Naofumi himself.

He simply wanted to show him the difference between lying about and acting.

"I'll help you out, Zellus."

"S-Sir Ren!?"

"It's not as if I have anything else to do. If you want to run off, then it's fine by me."

"N-No, that's not it! If you're helping out Zellus, then my rule of protection still applies and I'll have to come with you to make sure you're safe."

Ren sighed, but Zellus nodded.

"Good. With an extra hand, you can probably cover more ground quicker."

"We'll probably discuss this more tomorrow," Ren said, finishing up the last drops of his drink. He stood up from the stool and glanced back. "I have to go grind some experience and materials."

"Actually, you remember how I said I broke into the witnesses' horses and knocked them around for information?" Ren stopped on his heels immediately as Zellus whimsically spoke. "Well, I did that a few hours before I met you two at the guild. They'll be waking up in the morning, but once they do that, you can be sure that they'll run to the Church and they're going to know that something's up, tucking their evidence that's lying about even deeper."

"So we have a time limit for this operation."

"We have to strike tonight." Zellus drank down some more of his alcohol. He drank so much, but he hasn't shown any signs of slurring. "It's the only reasonable opportunity that we have."

"Look, I know Captain Lothringen brings emergency missions for us that we have to follow through immediately, but this is a bit insane!" Batka pleaded.

"And?" Zellus smugly glanced at his comrade. "Did you forget who you're talking to? As long as you don't do anything stupid, you'll be fine."

"Then make preparations immediately," Ren declared. "Where should we meet? At what time?"

"I already got everything written out for you. I tucked the information in your pocket already," Zellus answered, tapping his thigh where Ren's pocket would have been.

Ren mentally flinched, but he reached his hand into the instructed area to find that there was a piece of paper, folded up. He didn't even remember Zellus coming close to him during their conversation, much less having enough time to slip the paper onto him. In fact, Ren didn't even feel it.

"Quite the magic trick."

"I try my best."

Zellus slammed the empty glass onto the table one more time before he kicked himself off the stool.

"If you have any concerns, leave it for our meeting tonight. I have to go make my own preparations, now that I've gotten you two into the fray."

Without another word, Zellus left Ren and Batka in the bar. The bartender himself took in Zellus' glass and placed it in the nearby sink to wash it, alongside Ren's fizzy beverage as well.

Immediately, Ren passed the note to Batka. He wasn't going to try and decipher what the hell Zellus was writing to him and besides, Batka needed to know the location as well.

"Batkas, read it for me," he said, as his party member took the paper for his hand.

"I-It's Ba…" Batka stopped himself in his correction as he made a defeated sigh, unfolding the paper in the process. "You know what? Never mind."

However, Batka widened his eyes when he opened the note.

"Uhm…"

His brows were furrowed as a confused gaze fell onto the paper. He looked like he was trying to make heads and tails out of the note, but failed to figure out either.

"What? What's wrong, Batka?"

"I… I think Zellus gave us the wrong note," Batka answered, frowning. "He literally just scribbled this on. Maybe I'm not seeing it though, but I definitely can't figure this out if it was intentional."

"Let me see."

Ren raised his brows and walked up to Batka. He peeked his head over the part member's shoulder.

He didn't know if he would have gotten the same conclusions as Batka and perhaps it was supposed to be a hidden message somewhere that Batka had to spot. If that was the case, it would have been near impossible to figure out where Zellus wanted to meet and they would probably have to run after him to get the right information.

That's what Ren presumed.

What was written hadn't been what Ren expected.

Ren widened his eyes.

"... _W-What?_"

He ripped the note out of Batka's hands and dashed to the door. He bursted out of the tavern, much to Batka's surprise as he snapped his neck around, trying to find which direction Zellus had disappeared to.

The crowd was a bit large as the sun started to set, marking the end of the day for most of these people, but none of them matched the extravagant appearance of the knight. Batka ran out with Ren to see that Ren's face had been dripping in cold sweat.

"S-Sir Ren!? What happened!? What's going on!?"

Ren had the note in his hand; he was unintentionally crumbling it within his clenched fist.

He looked at it once more.

Opposed to everything else in this world, Zellus' writing matched merely one only piece of natural text that Ren was able to understand ever since he arrived in Melromarc.

He understood the writing Zellus had given to them.

Like the title of 'The Records of the Four Holy Weapons'—

'_An hour past midnight. Meet in this specific alleyway a few blocks away from the Church. Most importantly, let's keep this as our little secret. You know what I'm referring to, don't you?_'

—_it was written in hiragana._

* * *

**)—|(\IV/)|—(**

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**Extra Notes :**

The first scene, containing Itsuki and his party members, was inspired by Allen's Hope of the Shield Hero's Chapter 14.

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**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 024 : Zellus**

[Ren] : "I heard that Zellus can be a handful. The way that Lothringen speaks about Zellus from that one time made it sound like he has to endlessly deal with Zellus' bullshit."

[Batka] : "I would be lying if I denied that. I heard he broke into the throne room as you were meeting with the king the first time, right?"

[Ren] : "He basically gave the other heroes a heart attack. Being summoned into this world, you would expect the entire procedure of events to be prim and proper for legendary heroes."

[Batka] : "You weren't taken aback?"

[Ren] : "It'll take much more to scare me. Kicking down a door unexpectedly doesn't really fit or come near the criteria for it."

[Batka] : "Well, Zellus has a tendency to do things on his own volition. If none of the captains, the king, or the queen have a leash on him, he goes off and does his own things. Not only that, but he sometimes skips out on the trivial duties like patrolling and guarding. It really pisses off Captain Lothringen when he does that."

[Ren] : "Then why the hell hadn't he been fired yet? He sounds like a terrible knight. In fact, I want to know something. Was he like this before his promotion to a high knight?"

[Batka] : "Exactly the same. Actually, I think he skips out on _more_ trivial duties thanks to his higher rank."

[Ren] : "What were they thinking, promoting a guy like that?"

[Batka] : "You say that, but if you asked any of the captains, I don't think any of them would have regretted their choice. Though, the feeling does show up once in a while."

[Ren] : "Why's that?"

[Batka] : "Despite his attitude of being a knight, he's been steady guiding the growth of the rookies and even some of the normal knights as well. He was actually my main mentor when it comes to swordplay and even to this era of my life, I'm still learning things from him. The crazy part is that he's not even paid to teach. That's not even to mention the power he has behind his swords."

[Ren] : "So there's a heart inside all that insanity after all."

[Batka] : "..."

[Ren] : "... Why did you just look away?"

[Batka] : "T-There's a reason why he isn't an actual mentor… His training regimes are super brutal when he gets serious about it and you'll be wishing for death by the end of it. And the thing is, _I think he enjoys seeing us suffer..._"

[Ren] : "You have my… _sympathy_, I guess…"

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

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**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 025 : High Knights**

[Ren] : "You mentioned you were a high knight, right? That would help explain why you're stronger than the others in comparison. I thought it was a bit weird that you weren't on the same strengths as the others."

[Batka] : "O-Oh, you can tell? I was trying to hold myself back, so that you can get some experience of combat for yourself. My job as a knight is to protect the people and it's no different here. Just treat me as a safety net that you can fall back on whenever you find yourself in a pinch!"

[Ren] : "You sound confident in your skills."

[Batka] : "Of course I am! I'm a proud high knight of Melromarc! I got promoted about two years ago and I've been serving the Melromarc forces for about eleven years."

[Ren] : "It took you that long to get promoted?"

[Batka] : "Becoming a high knight isn't easy. You have to hit all the right criterias that the captains are looking for in the entrusted group of specialized knights. Not only that, but you have to pass a test designed by the captains, specifically made to push your limits to the very end. I worked my ass off to get to where I am today and I wouldn't have done it any other way."

[Ren] : "I'm guessing this group of high knights isn't so large then."

[Batka] : "Actually, fifteen to twenty percent of the total knighthood population are high knights or above rankings. It's a pretty decent ratio and I can ensure that many of them are good people. Positive attitude is one of the things you need to have to become a high knight."

[Ren] : "_Positive attitude can only get you so far though…_"

[Batka] : "Huh? Did you say something, Sir Ren?"

[Ren] : "... Nothing."

[Ren] : '_And like that, I'm reminded of Naofumi again. Just when will he learn?_'

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**


	14. Chapter 1-13 : Circumstantial Medicine

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

"Ah, it's so bitter!"

"R-Raphtalia, please don't—! And you've already done it. Great."

That was the second one Raphtalia had spitted out, causing Naofumi to sigh. Frankly, it was a bit frustrating considering the effort he had put in to make the medicines in the first place. As Naofumi watched his personal achievements be drained into the dirt from Raphtalia's mouth, he wryly looked at the last one he had created.

It wasn't as if he could make any complaints though. This entire day had been phenomenal in terms of the progress that he made in comparison to the first few days. It almost felt like the first day out beyond the castle all over day, only this time—Naofumi was knowledgeable about the progress he had truly been making and he wasn't going to have someone accuse him of rape.

Hopefully.

Immediately after departing with Itsuki, Naofumi had taken her over to Erhart's blacksmithing store. Of course, Erhart never expected Naofumi to waddle right in with a demi-human slave, but he wanted a trustworthy place to help get her prepared. Whether he wanted to or not, he would have to need to get her to fight for his own sake and Erhart understood the thought process.

Raphtalia had gotten new clothing in the form of a simple brown tunic, getting rid of the rags she once had, and as a weapon, Erhart provided her with a small knife. The blacksmith had recommended it for beginners of combat and considering her age alongside the current disposition, Erhart had every right to assume so.

Throughout the entire time, she held onto many coughs. They were all dry and hoarse ones, causing Naofumi to definitely be concerned for her sake. He asked Erhart about medicines, but apparently, resources for medicine had been running low throughout the land given the situation with the waves of destruction.

Naofumi did eventually decide to ask around when they left, but there weren't any warm welcomes to him. In fact, Naofumi got kicked out of half of them while being denied service in the other half. It really made him worried about what he was going to do for Raphtalia's bad sickness, according to what Beloukas said. He knew he was going to get a bad reputation because of the trial, but to be denying his money is another issue he didn't expect.

Ren's words were really putting a nail through his hands right now.

Unfortunately, that meant Naofumi had to take her out as she was. Thankfully for Naofumi, one of the restaurants didn't actually close him off from their menus and he was able to get a small meal for him and a hearty one of Raphtalia. She had been stealing glances at another child's plate after all, and he decided to buy her the same.

With a full stomach each, they went out to kill some monsters. With Raphtalia being his blade and being assigned to his party, just as he remembered Ren mentioning, gaining levels and materials felt so free and easy. He couldn't stop smiling in a joyful glee, seeing the mass of balloon corpses at their feet and the experience bar growing higher and higher until it popped out and reseted, granting him a new level.

To say Naofumi felt liberated would be nowhere near as close as how he felt.

And he had Raphtalia to thank for this, who really simply stood around all confused as Naofumi made his small victory gestures. Naofumi even had the opportunity to spread his area and fight new monsters outside of the multi-coloured balloons, but he always kept Itsuki's words in his mind—not that he needed them to act on the notion. Even in the whole zeal of things, he needed to keep Raphtalia safe and no measures of excitement could deviate him from that condition.

In the midst of unlocking shields from the materials, he noticed one called the [Green Mush Shield]. There were some shields that didn't give him any stats at all and this was one of them, but the shield came with the equip bonus of apprentice compounding. Combined with [Blue Mush Shield], which gave him a list of simple compounding recipes somehow, he quickly caught onto the fact that he didn't need to buy medicine for Raphtalia when he could try making them himself.

As they went to prepare a camp and Naofumi had been hanging the fishes over the campfire, he used the time to seek out the medical recipes. The most relevant one that he discovered had been one that helped with colds, ranking itself at a normal quality. There wasn't anything specific to colds, so he had to make do. The only bad thing was that he wished he gathered more herbs when he had the chance to.

… Because now, Naofumi returned to the present.

With a child spitting out the medicine he worked hard to make.

He had to collect all the materials for it, grind up the required herbs, and formulate them into proper medicine. It sounded like he was whining, but it was truly a struggle trying to figure all this out by himself! He wondered if Itsuki, Ren, or Motoyasu would have had an easier time figuring this out. He wasn't going to say anything though, meeting Raphtalia with a bitter smile.

"R-Raphtalia? I-I only have one more cold medicine here." Naofumi brought up the vial and showed it to her as he noticed she instinctively flinched. Naofumi had a small pout. "If you want to get better, you're going to have to drink it up."

"I-I'm sorry… I-I can't…" There was almost a remorsed tone in her voice, as if she was pleading. It must have been an instinctual cry from her time as another's slave.

"It's fine, Raphtalia. You can do this." Naofumi looked at the vial and then glanced at Raphtalia with a soft smile. "The bitterness will go away quickly, but the longer you keep it in your mouth, the worse it'll get. If you swallow the medicine quickly, you won't feel it as much!"

Raphtalia went to cover her mouth as Naofumi brought the vial closer to her mouth.

He supposed that kids were always going to be kids, but he noticed that Raphtalia was almost on the brink of crying. He didn't the medicine could have tasted that badly, but the notion of slavery returned to him. She was probably afraid that it would hurt her.

Naofumi started to ponder how to get her to drink it up.

Her condition wouldn't get better if she constantly refused what could help her out. He knew that children were rather picky due to their nature, but as she trembled in the medicine's wake, this scene started to remind him of the past.

"You know, a friend of mine once had the same coughing problem as you a while back." As Naofumi pulled back the medicine towards him, relaxing back around the small fire they've made to mark their camping location. He saw that Raphtalia's ears twitched and her eyes opened up a bit when he started to talk.

"A-A friend…?"

"Yeah. His name was Motoyasu and he's actually older than me."

Naofumi gazed up to the shimmering sunsetted skies above, blending their colours with the drifting clouds.

"Though, one day—he had a really bad fever after… uh, being out at night for far too long and I decided to stay back with him in the morning to make sure he was feeling well. I was really worried for him. Not only did he have a fever and a headache, he picked up some coughs too, so I decided to try and deal with that first by getting him some medicine I bought at a store."

"Was he… coughing like me?" For someone who seemed afraid seconds ago, she looked to be already invested in the story. That alone made Naofumi chuckle.

"Yeah. It was as bad as yours. Really bad. No, maybe it was even worse. Some of his coughs did make him puke after all and I had to pat his back to help him get it all out of his systems." Naofumi glanced to see Raphtalia's reaction, as a worried expression had overtaken her. "When I gave him the medicine for his coughs, he looked at me funny like how you looked at me just now. Though, Raphtalia—do you know what Motoyasu had been saying the entire time he was taking the medicine?"

"W-What? What did he say?"

"He said it was super bitter. He almost felt like he was going to die from the taste alone! That's how bad it was! Still, he drank it up! He knew it was going to make him feel better, so he had to get it into his body eventually! He was complaining a bunch, even more than you, but he didn't leave a single last drop of the portion I gave him."

Naofumi wanted to laugh, seeing Raphtalia's mouth curl up into a whimper. Though, it might have been mean, considering the circumstances right now, so he held back.

"D-Did Moto… uh…"

"Motoyasu," Naofumi kindly reminded her. "His name is Motoyasu."

"Y-Yeah!" She had perked up, causing Naofumi to soften up his smile. "Did Motoyasu get better?"

"By the time I had to leave, his coughing had already subsided. All that was left was his fever, but that wasn't something that mere medicine could fix by itself. Though, I did give him some pills I had for emergencies to help with that."

Naofumi decided to longingly gaze at his own vial of medicine, making something like an act that children would be convinced at.

"You know, I drank that medicine afterwards since I had caught his coughs. It was as bitter as what my friend said it was, but let me see how bitter this one is."

Naofumi popped off the cap and began to tilt his head back.

However, before the contents could reach his mouth, he covered it back up with his thumb, making it look like he was drinking it without actually consuming any. He definitely didn't want to lie to the girl, but there was only one portion left. Drinking some meant that the medicine wouldn't be as effective as it could have been.

He removed his thumb as he brought the medicine down, wiping the corner of his cheek to draw more emphasis.

"W-Wow, this isn't b-bitter at all! Y-You're really lucky you get to have medicine like this instead of the one I have back at my home."

Naofumi wasn't much of a liar, so if Ren or Itsuki had been present, they'd know immediately that he was bluffing. He was afraid that she might have seen through his cover of the wryly front.

Fortunately, Raphtalia didn't seem to notice.

She started to whimper, but as she went on, she slowly extended her hand out to grab hold of the vial. Naofumi gently passed it over, seeing how Raphtalia was starting to breath heavily at the thought of what she was about to do.

"You can do this, Raphtalia."

Naofumi brought his hand over on her trembling fingers to help her calm down. Oddly enough, Naofumi thought they were warmer despite not even being past a day since he had bought her. As he thought about that warmth, the shaking had slowed down.

"I believe in you."

"E-Erhm…"

"Alright, we'll do this together." Her arms had been let loose, as if she wanted Naofumi to bring it in for her. He decided to one of his hands on Raphtalia's back to help soothe her anxiety which surprised her, yet she said nothing about it. "On the count of three, I want to swallow the medicine as quickly as possible."

"Y-Yes…"

Naofumi counted up as Raphtalia mentally prepared herself and once Naofumi had finished the countdown, he slowly tipped the medicine over into her mouth. She even took a deep breath. Instead like last time, she wholly took in the vial's contents as it quickly rushed down her throat. She made a staggered face as it was going through, but Naofumi saw the gulping down her neck regardless.

Once it was empty, Naofumi pulled back and Raphtalia made one big exhale. Tears were still welling up in her eyes and she looked as if she was going to puke up the medicine once again. However, all that had come out of her mouth was her tongue.

"M-Master… I-It's still really bitter…!"

"Bitterness only means it's good medicine," Naofumi said, putting away the vial. He turned back to the fishes, turning them over for an even layer of heat throughout the entire meat. "Medicine can go even more bitter. You should be lucky that I didn't start you off with the one Motoyasu took. That one left taste residues so bad that he was tasting it through the porridge I gave him an hour later."

"I-I don't want that medicine…"

"Then be thankful with the things you have, Raphtalia. I know I am."

Naofumi turned to reach out for the girl, but she ended up flinching and braced herself. However, all Naofumi intended to do was stroke her head. Her ears started to relax and her bushy tail instinctively wagged as she looked up at Naofumi in confusion once again. He smiled to let Raphtalia know that he wasn't here to hurt her and that he sincerely wanted to help her out.

He couldn't even imagine what her previous master had been like that her mind had been trained to fear such a broad gesture, but he knew one thing for sure. He wasn't going to be using Raphtalia as a tool. As much as Raphtalia will be helping him in the future, Naofumi intended to return that favour by tenfold by taking care of her and ensuring that she will never get hurt ever again.

"M-Master…?" Raphtalia's voice croaked out underneath Naofumi's hand. "Who are you?"

He supposed that question was bound to come up eventually as he pulled back and sat down right next to her, but if she was merely asking for a name—he'd already given that to her. Though, she might not have been paying attention due to her anxiety of having a new master. He might as well cover all the bases. He gazed into the fire, as if it was an illusion he had to break.

"Me? My name's Naofumi Iwatani. I came from a country called Japan and I was brought into this world alongside my friends."

"You were… brought into this world?" Raphtalia's head tilted.

"I'm the Shield Hero."

Naofumi wanted to tell her the circumstances that led him to the moment of her purchase, but he evaluated the thought once again, deciding that a summarized version was more than enough for her. Besides, her face was already telling him that she was in disbelief.

"My friends and I were summoned as the Four Cardinal Heroes, destined to save the world from the waves of destruction. However, I got falsely accused of a crime I didn't do and so, most of the city doesn't like me that much."

Hearing that the Shield Hero got accused of a crime, Raphtalia started to panic. "W-Why!? Who would do something like that?"

The image of Myne, the King, and the Church of Three Heroes flashed into his mind, but he reluctantly shook his mentality away. This really hadn't been a conversation he should be having with a child into depth, but at this point, Naofumi couldn't really care less.

The resurgence that he felt today was good enough that he'll be willing to look past their transgressions for the moment. It didn't mean he wanted to drop the case, but if they had confessed to their crimes against him and promised not to do it again, he would whole-heartedily accept that apology, drop all pretenses and move on with saving the world.

"It's only a person whose… confused. They didn't know what they were doing and once it finished up, I'm sure that they wanted to apologize, but from how things are right now—they can't. In other words, I don't think it matters who accused me anymore." Naofumi pulled away from the fire and glanced back at Raphtalia. Her ears were wiggling, as if she was listening attentively. "I still have my friends by my side. As long as we can still fight together, I don't think there's anything that can take us down. Not even the waves of destruction."

Raphtalia gazed at him, but she had her sights split onto his shield as well. It was as if the green, lustrous gem in the center had flickered a radiant light in the somber atmosphere.

"You really are the Shield Hero…"

"Yeah, and as the Shield Hero—it's my job to protect." Naofumi tapped onto his shield lightly. "This weapon wouldn't let me attack a monster effectively, so that's why I needed someone to help me out. Due to my current situation, it was difficult to find someone willing to do so. That's why I bought you, Raphtalia."

Raphtalia had glanced at the knife she had set aside near the fire. "S-So… I can fight for you?"

"That's right," Naofumi nodded. "I know it's cruel of me to do it, but in exchange—I'm going to do what my job was designed to do the entire time. I'm going to protect you, Raphtalia—and I won't let any harm come your way. The day that harm does somehow slip past, you can be certain I've already given my life away." Naofumi couldn't help himself to pat Raphtalia on the head once again. Only this time, this was no flinching and simply a mere head turn.

"That's my promise to you, Raphtalia. It's going to be a promise I'll always keep."

Raphtalia's stomach, almost as if it was on a cue, had grumbled, causing her to be flustered. Naofumi, on the other hand, couldn't hold back his chuckling.

"You're already hungry, huh?" He glanced at the upcoming meal, noticing that they weren't exactly done yet. Seeing this, he immediately popped open his inventory to see what was edible for a child of her age. "Well, I don't think the fish are ready yet, but I did pick up some of these potions. I… I don't exactly know what would happen if you drank one on full meters, but this one is berry-flavoured! Only reason why it caught my eye!"

Raphtalia's eyes started to sparkle upon hearing the word. Naofumi guessed he lucked out on the potion shopping spree he had with Myne before he first exited the capital.

He promptly took one of the berry-flavoured HP potions out and handed it over to Raphtalia. Unlike the bitter medicine, she had started excitedly drinking it like it was some type of candy.

"Don't drink too much, Raphtalia. You'll spoil your appetite."

"Y-Yes, Master!"

However, her drinking stopped as she looked over to Naofumi one more time.

"... Actually. Master? What… should I call you?"

"... Huh?" Naofumi raised his eyebrows at the question and spoke what his mind immediately responded with. "Well, I guess it doesn't really matter what honorific you want to use. Though, if I had to choose myself—calling me by 'Master' really does make you seem like a slave or a servant. Barely the best thing to be called when you're basically an important companion to me now. Call me by my name if you want."

"I-Is that right?"

Raphtalia started to mouth his name out repeatedly as if she was trying to find a voice to say it outloud. Not before long, she rediscovered it.

"N-Nao… fu… mi…"

She took another deep breath. Her face started to become red, as if it was embarrassing for her to say his name. Though, usually people would start off with family names in Japan. He supposed he wasn't too clear on what name to call him, but he wasn't going to correct her.

"Nao… fumi…"

As Raphtalia said his name, she began to smile. She probably didn't even know it herself.

"Master Naofumi..."

Naofumi smirked, seeing that Raphtalia's smiles were a blessing to see.

Seeing happiness drawn onto those that looked miserable before had been calming to his heart.

* * *

**)**—**(\**IV**| Chapter 1-13 |**IV**/)|**—**(  
)\\( Circumstantial Medicine )/(**

* * *

"Right on time."

Zellus sat in the shadows, crossing his legs as Ren could make out the figure hunched over against a wall. He was certainly enjoying himself and looked like he came early enough to set up a little drinking area. There were only the essentials; in front of Zellus had been a small table and on it, delicate and beautiful clay cups. Inside, he assumed it to be alcohol.

"Come sit, you two." Zellus brought out two empty cups and placed them on the wooden table, beckoning them to take their seats. "We still have a bit more time before it's safe to start the operation. I should probably take this time to properly debrief you guys and give you an actual objective. Wandering around in a mindless search within the church is merely asking for trouble."

Ren walked up into the dark alleyway, barely able to see Zellus' expression, as he dropped down on the other side of the small table. Batka took his position next to the hero.

"Batka, feel like drinking before this mission?"

"Ah, no thanks," he shook his head. "I don't want anything clouding my judgement for this operation."

"Alright, fair enough. Then I'll just provide you with some ordinary Scholar's Brew. It'll keep you energized and alert throughout the night." Zellus popped out something that looked like a thermos and poured out a dark liquid. It was hard to see what colour it truly was, but the scent made it seem like coffee.

"Want some, Sir Ren?"

"Why not? I could go for some coffee."

"... _Coffee_? _What_?"

"Cof… fee..?" Batka sounded out the word carefully. "Is that what you call Scholar's Brew back in your world, Sir Ren?"

The hero looked at the drink, taking in the aroma. "Well, it definitely _smells _like coffee."

"Uh, you sure about that, Ren? It might not be what you expect."

Zellus gave him a concerned look, as if he was silently trying to warn the hero. However, Ren couldn't exactly notice the knight giving his facial advice and pushed his cup next to the thermos-like container.

"Alright, your funeral," he shrugged.

Ren watched as Zellus poured out a cup for the hero, but unlike how full he poured it out for Batka, Zellus merely poured enough to reach a quarter of the already small cup.

"Just tell me how it tastes, before I give you anymore."

Ren lifted up the cup as the warmth from the beverage started heating his hands. He blew it to help ease the temperature before he tipped it over; the edge dripped the Scholar's Brew into his mouth.

And he immediately spitted out to the side.

"What the fuck!?" Ren stuck his tongue out, feeling the full force of the unexpected taste. "That's not coffee! That tastes disgusting! It feels like an energy drink made love to sweet tea! A-And was that a tad of apple I tasted!?"

It certainly wasn't like the similarities of the soda-like drink back in the tavern.

"Hey, I warned you. It wasn't what you were thinking of." Zellus took back the thermo-container and Ren's cup, probably believing that he wasn't going to continue any drinks for the night. "Don't assume that stuff that exists in your original world exists in this world too."

Ren clicked his tongue heavily, growling like an angry dog. "Yeah, thanks for telling me about that _after_ I drink it. A vague warning isn't going to do much, you know."

If Ren had to give that Scholar's Brew any benefit of the doubt, it certainly made him more awake and alert than any coffee brand he had ever tasted in his life. Though, he believed that getting hit by a truck would have been a more pleasant feeling.

Batka nervously watched Ren's overreaction as he looked at his own cup of Scholar's Brew. He couldn't find anything wrong with the drink and it tasted like how it always did, but he was surely not going to bring it up. However, he was rather fixated on how it was described.

It was a rather way to say it, to say the least.

'_Making love…?_'

"Let's set the distraction aside for now." Out from Zellus' coat, he managed to pull out a map and spread it across the table. "This is the operation I need you to do."

Ren came closer to get a better vision of the paper, realizing that the layout looked a bit familiar.

"Your objective is going to be accessing the secret library within the Church of Three Heroes. Inside, there's documents and textbooks that need to be recovered. Two of these textbooks are documentation made by Aldrecht."

The name of the king's retainer made Ren wince slightly.

"It was made by Lord Aldrecht?" Batka asked. "That feels weird to hear. Lord Aldrecht never likes to share his research with anyone!"

"Yeah, the king of all people knows this. He wants us to take them back. They were stolen a long time ago and the king recently got hold of its location. Something about the _Replica_?" Zellus freely shrugged. "I don't remember the details, just what must be done."

"_Replica_?" Batka scratched his head, humming. "That name seems… _familiar_."

"Don't worry about it. I know I'm not since it doesn't sound like anything important, so don't dive your nose too deeply. You're going to hit the bottom of the lake otherwise."

However, Ren wasn't seeing the connections here. Back in the tavern, Zellus said that they would be trying to sneak into the Church in order to gather evidence against the trial's verdict. He didn't even know what the hell a _Replica_ was, much less what it had to do with the situation at hand, so he had to ask.

"What does this have to do with Naofumi and his trial?"

"Actually, it has nothing to do with the Shield Hero." Ren was about to stand up and walk away. He wasn't intending to be a mindless puppet, but Zellus caught him moving up. "At least, not directly. Remember that these are stolen, so recovering that will hurt the Church's credibility. Beside, you two aren't on that trial evidence side, just some side things that are more on the safer side. Gathering the counter evidence will be my job and as long as you two do your work, you don't have to worry about information regarding the trial."

"So you're the one scavenging for evidence to help Naofumi directly?"

Zellus hummed at the question. "Yeah, I guess you can say that." He smiled, continuing the train of thought. "If you two find anything about the trial while sweeping your own assignment, then feel free to snag it up. Don't make it too obvious though."

The knight pointed to a general area on the map.

"Anyways, we don't have information as to where these textbooks could be precisely. However, we were able to secure a general area and this is what you'll be looking for tonight. Head into the library of the Church of Three Heroes and discover one of their secret passages that leads to that room."

"The library's huge," Ren commented. "I don't think we're going to find a secret passageway _that_ easily."

"I think you'll manage," Zellus chuckled. "Besides, you'll be entering the Church using a secret passageway that connects with one of the unused buildings down the alleyway. I'll be taking another route for my own job."

"And is there anything else to know, Zellus?" Batka asked.

"Once the operation starts, I'll say that you'll have a soft time limit of an hour. The faster you find those textbooks, the better. Once that hour finishes up, I can't promise you that you'll be safe to investigate the library anymore." Batka drank up the rest of his Scholar's Brew and gave the cup back to his ally. "You two understand?"

Both Batka and Ren nodded.

"Good. We'll be starting immediately."

Flames started to appear within Zellus' hands as he pressed down against the map. The paper, along the wooden table, started burning into ashes and before smoke could reach the skies above, the knight transitioned it smoothly in a gust of air, breaking apart the flames and leaving nothing behind.

Zellus moved all of the drinking cups over to the side of the alleyway while tucking his thermo-container back into his jacket.

"We'll meet back here in this alleyway to confirm each other's status. I've already unlocked the unused building for you and it should be the first building with a slightly opened door down the alleyway. Take a left and straight ahead to find it."

Batka stood up quickly, as Ren took his time. He was more conscious about this operation than Batka, probably having been the fact that this was the first major quest that felt like something ripped out of the main storyline in Itsuki's _Dimension Wave_ rather than filler sidequest that belonged to Motoyasu's _Emerald Online_.

"Let's go, Sir Ren. I'll be sure to be our eyes and watch our backs for us."

"Go on ahead, Batkas. I need to confirm something with Zellus."

"Erhm, I could wait here until you—"

"Go on, Batka." Zellus shooed the knight away, flicking his hand appropriately as if he was trying to get a cat to scram. "If you're worried about the Sword Hero getting attacked again, I'll personally bring him over to the building. I think Ren wants to have this conversation as private as possible."

"O-Oh… That's fine. Sorry for not realizing."

"You can secure the area before his arrival if you want something to do."

"I'll do just that then."

Batka made his salute and without another word, he marched down the alleyway, deeper into the shadows until Ren couldn't see him anymore. He kept his sights into the darkness as Zellus stood behind him.

The moment that his eyes and ears told him they were alone, he reached inside of his pocket and drew out a folded piece of paper. He didn't look back at the knight, but he held it up by his side.

"Explain."

Zellus made an amused chuckle.

"Explain what?" he said smugly. "You can't be vague, or else I won't understand."

"Ever since I came to this world, I made the deduction that this world speaks another language and the holy weapon confirmed it with a help menu I discovered about the subject. There's an auto-translator for speech, but not for text."

Ren unfolded the hand and showed Zellus' the contents, though he was sure that Zellus already knew what they were. However, it wasn't information he wanted to present. It was information he wanted to know, out of his curiosity.

"Tell me why you know Japanese."

There was a subtle pause as if Zellus was trying to contain his laughter, but once that was over, he immediately responded. "Is that what the language is called? '_Japanese'_?"

"Huh?"

"Here, we call it the language of the heroes. I've been studying it a bit and wanted to see if it was legitimate and considering how you found yourself here without a problem, I'd say it was a successful translation."

Ren mulled at the response. For some reason, he didn't find that answer to be satisfactory, but perhaps it was simply the way Zellus was answering it that ruined the mood. He didn't even know what he wanted to do with the information after he discovered it, but something was scratching within his head.

Was that feeling of needed discovery based on mere curiosity alone or was there something else Ren was trying to get out of it? He himself didn't even know, sighing as he crumbled up the paper.

"Yeah," he replied, littering the paper onto the ground. "It was a good translation and I was able to read it without fault."

"Was that all you wanted to talk about?"

"That's all I can think of."

"Then let me ask you something."

Ren flinched before he turned around to face Zellus properly.

"Do you trust the king?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I was wondering if you were alright with this mission."

Now that he thought about it, it did appear rather odd that the king would allow this operation to be released out of planning state. He had made references as to how the king approved of the plan, but that sounded counterintuitive to how Naofumi had described the feelings of animosity he produced. Considering how he got that information second-handed by a woman in the prison, there was still doubt on that matter.

"Why does it matter to you? If we're helping out with the trial's truth, then I have no complaints." Ren narrowed his eyes. "Unless you're leading us into a trap."

"Look, I'm only saying this because I thought you might have been curious as to where the king got the information, but if you don't think it's important, I supposed it doesn't have to be brought up."

However, this one aspect changed the perspective of the mission. There was probably no change to the operation, but Ren had to wonder who informed the king of the books. If anything, Aldrecht should have been the one to be informed, since he was the author of them. He wondered if it had to do anything with the _Replica_, whatever it was.

If anything, it really sounded like Zellus was trying to imply that Aldrecht told the king.

"Actually, I should ask one more thing." Zellus changed the topics before Ren could get another word out. "Do you know how to use magic yet?"

The question was rather random, but there was no real reason to conceal the fact of the matter. A party member introduced the main idea of magic to him and while it wasn't a gameplay mechanic of _Brave Star Online_, he was able to understand the system easily. Though he said that, he had only managed to learn one elemental spell and it was one of the basic ones.

He was told that he could learn more spells in an easier way by reading magic grimoires; yet again, Ren was just reminded of how important it would have been to learn how to read the native language. He wondered if there was a feature of the holy weapons that allowed for visual translations to spare the time.

"Yeah, I can. My affinity is water and supportive magic. Why are you asking?"

"You learned a spell yet?"

"Only one."

Zellus mulled in his thoughts, before nodding to himself.

"It should work. Before the operation truly kicks off, let me teach you something about magic or rather, something that I discovered you can do with magic. You really don't look like a spellcaster type, so you might like this."

Zellus brought out one of his daggers and held it before him.

Suddenly, Ren felt warmth gathering onto the bestowed blade until it ignited into a shimmering flame. It wasn't bright, but it was hot enough that it would burn him badly if it made contact and even then, the blade itself wasn't melting under the pressure.

Ren glanced back to Zellus.

"This is called Magic Equipping. You might find this helpful, just in case if fighting is unavoidable."

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

The building that the Church used for their secret passageway looked like any other building that Ren had seen so far. He would have walked right past it accidentally if it weren't for Batka standing outside and Zellus guiding him over. The group said their final pieces before separating; Ren and Batka entered the empty building while Zellus walked down the alleyway.

The interior of the building gave the sense that it was supposed to be meant as a storage facility of some sort as there were wide open areas that weren't as furnished other than things covered in tarp. There was so much dust everywhere and Batka started sneezing quietly from the dirty air. He tried to cover it up as much as possible, but it was clear that he wanted to get to the real entrance as soon as possible.

In fact, the notion that this building hadn't been used in forever became obvious once Ren noticed where the secret passageway was. Ren saw that there was a cabinet that was yanked out from its original place recently, as there were dragged tracks and footsteps along the ground. Zellus must have been the one to prepare this for them.

However, there wasn't a simple doorknob. Actually, it was almost impossible to determine that there was a door there in the first place; it just felt like the entrance was there due to how the cabinet was out of its place. The only thing that distinguished this wall from the others was an engraved triangle along its surface.

"So how do we open this?" Batka asked aloud. "I didn't think about asking as to how these secret passageways functioned. Maybe we can still catch up with Zellus to ask him."

"No, we don't have to. I've already figured this out."

When Ren said that, he didn't mean it as he figured it out on the spot.

He actually figured it out a few months ago in _Brave Star Online_. It was a part of one of his first dungeons that he ventured alone. It was actually pretty scary how similar this specific door was compared to the puzzle that he had to deal with in that game.

Back in _Brave Star Online_, the successful solving of the puzzle would lead him to the boss room and yet, all he was doing for this mission was trying to find a few books in a library. Nevertheless, he could still feel the same anxious feeling he felt when he walked down those similar steps the first time.

Ren raised his hand onto the triangle and started imposing some of his magic onto the barrier. However, his control wasn't as good, so he turned to Batka for help.

"You said you could still use magic back with the group, right? Lend a hand here and throw some magic onto the door."

"R-Right."

As Batka raised his hand in a similar fashion, the triangle started to light up along its perimeter and when it reached the zenith of its aura, there was a click that occured when the light quickly faded away. It took a moment, but the door started fading away itself, revealing a staircase that led downwards. Though, it was much too dark down there to navigate properly.

"Sir Ren, there's a lantern here." Batka noticed the shape of the tool underneath a nearby tarp and grabbed it. He opened up the bottom to check the crystal that was inside, seeing a subtle light within as triggered. "We have good fortune on our side. Miraculously, there's still some energy left. We can definitely use this to help us out."

"Good spotting, Batkas."

"... Sir Ren, I feel like you're doing that on purpose now."

Ren raised his eyebrows. "Doing _what_ on purpose?"

Batka shrunk as he walked up to the door. "N-Never mind. Shall we head down?"

The knight led the way carefully as Ren followed behind him, drawing his sword just in case. It was definitely better to have it on hand when crossing into unknown territory. The steps themselves made a quiet noise every time they landed their feet, so they descended with diligence.

It was a straight shot downwards. There weren't turns or fancy winding staircases, but they didn't encounter anything that would have been a threat to them. They simply kept heading forwards until they hit something akin to a tunnel.

However, Ren had to keep his guard up.

This tunnel was lit up by torches, so that means people seem to visit this area. He wouldn't be surprised if they encountered patrolling guards for the Church, so he had Batka draw his own sword, just in case. A lantern only needed a single hand to be used after all. Actually, they didn't even need the lantern anymore thanks to the torches and Ren took it to place inside the inventory.

He had just thrown it in when he heard footsteps down the tunnel.

"_Batkas, back_," he whispered.

Batka had heard the sound too and they retreated back into the dark staircase. Ren focused on his ears, waiting for the footsteps to pass and disappear. As they waited, he could hear voices trickling down the tunnel.

"I wonder what the Church has fallen into. Praising the Shield Hero now? Isn't that the opposite of what the original doctrine is supposed to be…?"

"People keep mistaking it like that and it came to the public opinion that Pope Biscas is upholding the Shield Hero now, but if you actually read between the lines, he really doesn't care about the Shield Hero. That's why there's been no mention of them in the Church itself and I hear that Pope Biscas doesn't have any plans to integrate the Shield Hero into the teachings."

Attention was dragged from Ren as the two guards continued to make their conversation. From what they were talking about, it sounded like the inclusion of the Shield Hero was a recent thing. He crept closer to the edge of the staircase to get a better grasp of their voices.

"But still, it's gotta leave a bad taste in their mouths when they're sending the nuns who know anything out with their own written teachings. It started causing a ruckus in the community and caused all those people to defect to become those extremists. How long ago was it? Two months ago?"

"And that's why it's the less-experienced nuns that are being sent out, especially those that are much too eager for their own good."

"Ouch, so they're the ones on the chopping block."

"Well, all of that is going to go to waste anyways. The Shield Hero, like the original scriptures say, is through and through a demon if he went off to commit a crime within his first days in Melromarc. I hear Pope Biscas is already making plans to do away with those nuns. In fact, I think this might strengthen the resolve of the Three Heroes if the Pope decides to publicly execute them. That might be a good enough conclusion to this whole ordeal."

"Thank the heavens. I couldn't stand hearing things about that wretched Shield Demon for another day from the younger nuns, even if I'm just casually walking past. It's like they were excited to be able to include the Shield Demon into the teachings as a positive light. Really, it only exposes those who needed to be executed for their sins."

Ren's mind immediately flashed the image of the nun that he met in the library last week. If what they said was true, then the things that the nun said would have made her a heavy target from both sides.

At least, he could confirm what Aldrecht said about the Church of Three Heroes was starting to look truer.

As the footsteps slowly went past, Ren and Batka held their breaths. They didn't seem to notice the pair of swordsmen, but when Batka thought the coast was clear, Ren silently signaled to him. It was the same hand gesture that the hero used when he wanted to get an ambushed jump onto monsters.

"_Sir Ren, what are you thinking?_"

"_Just help me take down one of the guards. It'll make things easier for us if we do._"

"_A-Alright._"

Ren and Batka headed out of the staircase's shadows and crept up to the two guards. They were too engrossed in their conversation to notice the little sounds against the ground. They readied their weapons and struck the guards.

Batka's attack immediately downed his assigned guard, but Ren's attack made the guard have a minor inconvenience; he was more surprised by the ambush than anything. Needless to say, Ren didn't expect his attack to do less than what he expected.

"Wait, why didn't that—?"

"Who goes there!?"

The guard turned around and caught a glimpse of Ren, but Batka managed to clean up on Ren's behalf. He passed the guard in his blind spot and struck heavily with his hilt onto the back of the guard, sending the man into a fallen state. Batka went to finish the job, knocking the both of them out completely before looking at the surprised hero.

"Sir Ren, you have to be more careful. The knights of the Church of Three Heroes aren't like the monsters in the wild." Batka tapped the armor on the unconscious knight. "Especially with these high-grade pieces of equipment. Combine that with their higher levels, and you won't be doing much since your attack is still lower than their accumulated defense."

Ren looked at his sword dejectedly.

"You're telling me I didn't even hurt him?"

"You mildly annoyed him at best."

He even did the same action as Batka, if not than something more effective. An ambush like that would have worked no matter what back in their world.

"In fact, if you were using a normal sword that wasn't a holy weapon, there might have been a chance that the blade itself might break. Since they have less knights than us, the Pope can dish out better armour for them. A bit off topic, but I've heard legends of one of the older Shield Heroes that was able to break blades when they struck his actual _skin_."

Ren flinched, imagining Naofumi in his head aloofly animated in that situation.

"S-Seriously…?"

"Theoretically, it should be possible if a man with low attack assaulted the Shield Hero in a raised defensive state. Though, that's really only in extreme situations and I don't think you'll have to worry about any of that if you keep moving along normally."

He didn't realize levels locked him out from doing certain things or rather, it must have been that his offensive stats were too low to be able to knock the guard out. It was annoying to deal with, but there wasn't much he could do about it.

"Was there a reason why you wanted to take these guards out?"

"Yeah, but let's move them into the staircase, so no one finds them easily."

Moving along, Ren placed his hands onto the guard and planned to drag him all the way over. Batka did the same and the both of them placed the guards on the steps in a rather uncomfortable manner. They'll definitely wake up with back pains when they return to consciousness.

Immediately, he started scavenging their pockets, but he sighed when he couldn't find anything he wanted.

"No dice. Though," Ren added on, feeling something in the pocket, "it does look like they have keys. This should be helpful, if I didn't want what I was looking for."

"What were you trying to find?"

"Usually, guards would have hints on their bodies about the secret passageways."

Batka furrowed his eyebrows. "W-Why? That sounds like an odd thing to do."

Now that Ren said it out loud, he would have to admit that it sounds like a ridiculous thing to check for. He didn't really want to talk about it anymore, so he stood back up, leaving the two guards in the darkness.

"Never mind that. We're done with these two. If they don't have any clues to our objective, then it's much better to avoid combat if needed."

Ren gripped his sword in disdain. He really didn't want to keep it as purely stealth originally, but that was before he realized he did little damage to the guards. He was just forced to make that decision.

Batka nodded to the recommendation as the pair of swordsmen departed towards the tunnel. There were two directions to pick from, but Ren went along with his analysis. If the guards were coming from the left, then there must have been a place to enter from the Church there as well.

Ren and Batka walked the torched tunnels, keeping themselves vigilant and alert.

However, they weren't hearing any more footsteps. The entire time, the two initial guards they encountered were the only guards that they've heard so far and when the tunnel stopped at a locked door, that notion remained true. Ren couldn't really believe the idea that only two guards were patrolling down here, but perhaps this was a clue that Zellus had started his side of the operation.

He did mention that they would be safe to search for about an hour, but he had to wonder what the hell it was Zellus was doing in the first place.

Using the keys from earlier, he unlocked the door to find himself in something akin to a dungeon, and he meant it in a prison sense. The surroundings were still the same and the man who was supposed to be on door watch had been sound asleep.

That was pretty lucky, but Ren wasn't about to take any chances.

He called Batka to knock him out to make sure he wouldn't be waking up anytime soon and they hid his body behind the desk he was sleeping at.

"So where the hell is this?" Ren asked as he tucked in the man's arms and legs. "Don't tell me that the Church itself has a prison like the castle. That sounds like a bit overkill for prisoners. Do you get something like a choice of where you want to go or anywhere on those lines?"

"I… don't know." Batka glanced down the hallway. The prison cells from this angle looked to be much more spread out compared to the castle's dungeon, implying that the cells themselves were much larger than the normal size. "I didn't think the Church of Three Heroes would have something like this underneath."

"This area's not known to the public?"

"Not that I've heard, no. I don't even think any of my comrades know about this place."

"Interesting…"

Ren stood up from behind the desk after he finished up, walking over to Batka while securing a few more keys that he found on the sleeping guard.

"Are you just going to take everything off every guard we take out, Sir Ren? That feels unnecessary. "

"It's a habit," Ren immediately responded, almost offended. "Who knows? It might come in handy."

"If you say so, Sir Ren."

They started walking down the dungeon. If this was formatted anything like the castle, there should have been a way to access the main area from the prison, but Ren couldn't help but to look into every cell that they passed.

There were some monsters in them, most of which he'd never seen before in the wild so far.

There were things he could only refer to as undeads, oversized lizards and hell, there were even a few two-headed dogs sleeping separately in their cells. He didn't know what the use for imprisoning these monsters would have been, but the first thing that came to mind was experiments. If that was the case, his second thought would have been expecting to see people inside of the Church's dungeon, perhaps further inside.

In fact, there were a handful of humanoid creatures like werewolves in some of the prison cells. Batka was rather surprised at their appearance, but Ren didn't pursue the reaction directly.

"What do you think about the monsters, Batkas?"

"Y-Yeah, it's a bit creepy, that's for sure. However, from what I've heard from Zellus, some of these monsters look like they came from the first wave of destruction." Batka stopped at a two-headed dog and pointed to it. Ren was surprised to see that there were quite a few of them scattered around.

"The first wave?"

"Zellus was one of the knights that participated during the first wave, though he and others came late since they were in a neighbouring village to the one the suffered the attack. I remember him saying something about a three-headed dog monster and while this probably isn't the same one, it surely resembles how he described it."

"So what the hell is the Church doing with these monsters?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Sir Ren. Though, I've heard rumours that a long time ago, the church would purposely capture strong monsters, weaken them, and send them back into the wild where one of their three respected heroes were fighting. It would obviously serve to make them stronger. Perhaps this is where all of that used to take place."

Ren scoffed. Being handed a kill sounded more like pity and needless debts. He could imagine the Church doing that, just so they could either manipulate the hero into their bidding to get the hero to suck up to the religion that worshipped them all the better.

As Batka explained his theory, Ren noticed a clump over in the corner of the dog's cell. He was about to dismiss it until he realized that it was a set of armour, randomly placed inside. He walked up closer to the iron bars only to recognize something odd about that equipment.

He _knew_ that equipment.

"No way…"

"What is it, Sir Ren?

It was Naofumi's original armor set given by the castle.

"Batkas, I'm going to try and recover that equipment there."

"H-Huh?"

Ren took out the keys and looked for the correct combination to unlock the prison cell. There was a bigger entrance locked on the opposite side of the cell which was probably how the Church got the monster inside in the first place. This entrance was most likely meant for the staff of the Church.

"What do you mean? Why?"

"That's Naofumi's stuff right there." Batka flinched in surprise in hearing it. "I don't know why it's here, but we can be sure that the Church _has_ to do something about the trial now. Zellus said we should snag anything that helps with the trial, right? Well, there's our ticket right in front of us."

Batka glanced at the sleeping two-headed dog and compared it to the distance Ren had to travel back and forth. It wasn't too far, but one incident could wake up the monster and cause a ruckus. Ren pushed open the door creakily as Batka prepared to bail the hero out if needed.

"Be careful."

"Yeah, I know."

Ren took his steps carefully, pacing himself while keeping his eyes on the dog. Its stature made it look like it could close the gap in under a few seconds. Still, Ren couldn't help to be nervous because every twitch it made in its sleep could have been the monster waking up to see that fresh meat had strolled in.

He managed to reach the other side and knelt down to the armour. He held it and looked at it for a closer look. The condition was still rather good and if he could hand this in to Zellus, it could help Naofumi. Best case scenario, it'll circulate back to Naofumi, so that he can have his strong equipment back.

Ren threw the equipment into his inventory; he was thankful that there was no need to lug that breastplate and accessories around.

_Step._

Ren's ears picked up a quiet sound, causing him to snap his head over to where it came from and the moment he did, the two-headed dog was already leaping towards him.

'_It's awake!? How!? I didn't make any sounds, unless…! The sound from the prison cell door!? Then, was it waiting for me to turn my back to it!?_'

"Sir Ren! Watch out!"

Ren dodged out of the corner, rolling back onto his feet as the monster rebounded, baring its fangs at Ren. He readied his sword for combat, but knew that the monster had to drop quickly. Monsters tended to make noise and he couldn't be damned if the monster would unintentionally call guards here.

"Batkas!"

"Already on it!"

Batka dashed past Ren and positioned himself. Its attention was briefly drawn to the knight, so the hero ran towards the adjacent wall and leapt onto the surface, kicking off and bringing his blade sharply down. His sword plunged into the monster's neck as he used the momentum to land on the monster's back, before quickly disengaging by jumping backwards into the wall behind.

He was trying to rebound right over the dog and cut off one of the heads.

The monster did not stagger much though and was about to turn to interrupt Ren's weaving tactic, but Batka flung himself into the air and cleanly sliced off one of the two heads before the monster had a chance.

In succession, Ren pushed his legs and drove his sword right through the second head before the first head could hit the ground.

Ren and Batka looked back at the decreased monster, noting how well they made quick work of it.

Considering Batka's rule on the levels, that meant its defense was lower than he expected it to be.

"These are the monsters that came from the first wave?" Ren scoffed as he watched the headless body fall over. "That's a bit pathetic, actually. How were there casualties in the first wave with monsters as weak as this one?"

Despite what Ren said, he was almost impressed with the sentience of the dog. If it truly woke up when he opened the prison door, then it was waiting for the chance when Ren had his back turned to it to strike. None of the monsters so far had shown that level of intelligence.

"By themselves, they weren't anything powerful from what I heard, but they overwhelmed the villagers using numbers. And in addition, there was one strong monster that racked up many casualties by itself. It was a three-headed dog monster and the villagers weren't able to deal with it until the knights came along."

Ren walked up to the monster and started absorbing the materials from it. He figured that if they killed it, he might as well take the weapon that sourced from the monster.

**[Two-Headed Dog Sword] 0/35 UC  
(Equip Ability) : Alert Sword  
(Special Effect) : Dog Bite Grip  
(Mastery Level) : 0  
(Item Enhancement) : LV0**

"[Alert Sword]?"

Mumbling quietly to himself, Ren looked at the description of the passive skill. It was a detection-based ability that allowed him to discover enemy hostiles within a certain radius, pinging him like a radar every few moments. Honestly, this would have been helpful if it weren't for the fact that the (Equip Bonus) would only be accessible when he had it out for long enough.

"The monsters from the waves of destruction," Batka continued, "are only going to be stronger from here on out. You shouldn't perceive this to be the strength of the upcoming wave, Sir Ren. They're not something to underestimate."

"Yeah, I got it."

Ren immediately swapped his current sword to the [Two-Headed Dog Sword]. It was quite the ominous blade, given the fact that there were two smaller heads sticking out from the sword's hilt, but he could sense that the darkened sheen on the blade was more malleable if he willed it. It must have been something to do with that (Special Effect).

"We should move on now."

"What about the monster corpse? They're going to find out that somebody was here, killing their creatures."

"There's not really a place where we can stash this body. We're just going to have to bear with it and leave the corpse here. They'll find out, but hopefully, they won't know who did it."

Batka nodded.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

They managed to access the main halls of the Church through another secret passageway, but they were careful upon exit. Fortunately, they managed to open up the door hidden within the wall when nobody was present, so they quickly left out of the staircase. The hidden entrance closed up behind them as they looked around to get their bearings.

Ren walked up to a room, seeing that they've been all numbered accordingly. If they were anything to go by, they were on the fourth underground floor of the Church, a floor that was exclusive to staff of the Church. The second underground floor was the last public floor and that was where the library was.

They quietly traversed through the third subfloor without much problems. In fact, it was starting to be eerie as to how they weren't encountering anyone, despite the fact Zellus promised that they would be safe. He would have expected at least _some_ guards being idle, but there was none of that.

It certainly made walking to the second subfloor much easier.

Ren pressed his hands against the door of the library and slowly pushed them out. It was rather similar to the doors of the throne room, though it was easier to open up in comparison. With much information being stored here, he expected the door to be locked.

The two walked into the vast and open library, but given how empty it was, it set off a completely different mood than the last time Ren had come here.

"Alright, let's start looking around for this secret room," Ren announced. "I still wonder what the hell Zellus is up to."

"If Zellus said that he'll handle the time, he's probably distracting them right now. I wouldn't worry about him though. He's one of the strongest guys within the knights and when he says he'll get a job done, he usually gets its all wrapped up. Still, the time we have remaining is still concerning, combined with the space we have to cover."

"He said that we'll manage somehow. We don't have much of a choice except to go with what he says."

"I don't think we should spread out though. With how the library is designed, it's easy to lose one another if both of us keep moving. I'd hate to be seeing a worse case scenario. I think we should stick together for a bit. At least, we'll check up with some of my instinctive feelings as to where a secret passage might be. If none of them works, then it'll be a divide and conquer tactic we'll be forced to take."

"I almost forgot that the castle itself had things like this. Hopefully, there'll be an activation in a similar vein to the castle."

"I can only hope so. I don't want to disappoint the king."

Ren mulled in his pause. "_Y-Yeah… I suppose you wouldn't_."

The first thing Batka looked for were paintings. In the castle, there were apparently passageways that were hidden behind the paintings and all it took was a simple removal of the artwork to reveal it. It was easy to determine if there was one by knocking on the edge without removing the entire thing down.

When that search bore no fruit, Batka looked for the second thing which was empty walls that looked empty. Like before, if magic was imbued into the magic, it would open up a secret passageway. Unfortunately, nothing like that was working for the group.

The next thing Batka checked was if there were any statues, reminding Ren about the trap Motoyasu almost triggered. There were smaller statues littered about the library, but none of them looked to have triggered anything.

Batka was already at his wit's end and twenty minutes had passed in a snap of their fingers.

"Sorry, Sir Ren. I couldn't come close to anything."

However, given the last method of discovery, Ren noticed that there was on more statue that they haven't tried to check.

"Is there a reason you're avoiding the giant statue in the middle?"

"Why would it be there? If it's a secret passageway we're looking for, then it would have to be accessed in secret, right? The giant statue is literally in the middle of the room, for all to see. There's no way that people can access it easily with that many eyes."

Natka made a point, but that wasn't going to stop Ren from trying.

"Well, it looks like an obvious place to start for me. It's not as if we have nothing to lose by checking."

"I suppose you're right.."

He didn't pay much attention to it during the first time, but the statues in the center depicted the Three Cardinal Heroes, all striking a pose as if they were united as one. There was no presence of a Shield Hero in their ranks, but that probably wasn't the time to think about him.

Ren started to scan the statue for any oddities alongside Batka until he came across a similar triangle that was almost invisible to the naked eye, kneeling down so that it was at his eye-level. He had to squint to see the outline, but it was certainly there.

"Batkas, over here. I found something, so help me pour magic into this thing."

Batka walked over to the located triangle and even he had a hard time seeing it. However, Ren pointed to it and Batka started channelling. Like in the unused building, the triangle began to spark a light. As the light died down, Ren heard something working underneath the floor.

Circling around the statue, a piece of the floor started to ignite in a similar light and when it disappeared, it took the flooring along with it, showing a spiraling staircase downwards.

"Huh, I should have listened to my own instinct from the very start."

"H-Huh… Is that so…?"

Ren took out the lantern from his inventory and walked the steps with Batka following him. It took about a minute to get through all of it, but once that was done, they were led into a smaller library. It was dimly lit up, but it was enough for Ren to unequip his lantern.

'_This must be the library that one nun was talking about._'

"Hey, it looks like there's a table here with some opened books." Batka pointed out the scenery to the left, catching Ren's attention. "Maybe if we're lucky…"

"Doubt it would be lying about, waiting for us."

Ren and Batka approached the table for a close inspection.

The opened textbook wasn't actually the thing they were looking to find. It looked like it was in development since somebody was writing it down and the quill and ink nearby looked like proof of that. However, it certainly held interesting information. At least, Ren perceived that detail when Batka started to flip through the pages.

"Is there something wrong with the book?"

"... It's weird."

"Okay, that doesn't explain much."

"I've never heard about a story like this before." Batka flipped through some more pages, stemming it from the beginning. "It's about the 'Shield Demon' and how he brainwashed the rest of the Cardinal Heroes to be his allies."

Ren raised his eyebrows.

"Excuse me?"

"I know I'm no religious fanatic, but I think I would have known about this story if it was so outlandish." Batka glanced to the next few pages towards the end. "It looks about finished, but the ink still looks fresh. Though, whoever was writing this was trying to make it look old, like it was recently discovered from an excavation."

"The Shield Hero brainwashing the other Cardinal Heroes? Now that's an absurd story if I've ever heard about it. I don't even have to be a native to know that. Aren't the Three Cardinal Heroes supposed to be their gods anyways? What use is holy power when they're snapped into a trance by the supposed demon?"

"I'm… not too entirely sure. It actually sounds like it's trying to impose a prophecy of some sort. It claims something about an era of lies, where the Sword Hero, the Spear Hero, and the Bow Hero are all false gods, created to protect the Shield Hero and lead everyone to chaos."

"Is it brainwashing or false heroes?" Ren pressed his hand against his temples. "Pick one."

"Well, it mentions both possibilities as the era of fake heroes. It's just… I've never heard of that before. Not even as rumors across the capital."

Batka left the book opened to the page it was left at and settled it down on the table, but Ren was rather dismissive of the whole thing. The book felt like it was really trying to cast doubt on the entire religion as a whole, but the fact of the matter is that it looked recently written up within the confines of the Church.

Ren curiously wondered what that was all about, but decided to drop the subject.

"Anyways, it isn't the book on the _Replica_. We shouldn't be wasting time on this. Let's keep searching."

The two swordsmen started looking for the books on the shelves, but Ren didn't really know what type of book they were looking for. If he had a description of the book, he would have been able to shuffle it out eventually, but he had nothing except knowing that the contains involved a term that he didn't know about.

Honestly, Batkas was the only person that felt qualified to do the job here, on the given fact that he was literate while Ren was not. He started questioning why Zellus would demand him for this job, making it sound like he was the main assistant followed by Batka.

However, there was still one book that he remembered about while he looked through the books.

He tried to keep an eye on it since it was quite the obvious design, especially compared to the rest here. It's been about a week since the nun last took it out for reservation, so it was most likely back in this library if it was to be anywhere at this point.

"Wait, I think this is it." Batka stopped when he looked at the textbook he pulled out from the shelf. He flipped over the cover page and read out the mysterious words to Ren. "It's called _The Siltvelt War Project_. Nothing about the _Replica _on the surface, but it's written by Aldrecht, so it must be something."

"Then the book next to it must be the second one."

Ren pulled out the adjacent book and looked at the cover. The author's name, though unreadable to him, was indeed in the same writing and image, so that must have been Aldrecht's name once again.

"I guess that's a mission completed," Batka exclaimed happily. His hand held onto Ren's book as he tugged on it slightly. "I'll keep a hold of these books while we exit and I'll make sure these get to Zellus."

As Batka hugged the two books underneath his arm, Ren shrugged. If they wanted to make their lives easier, he could stuff the two books into his inventory like the lantern, but if Batka wanted to hold onto them, he was free to do it.

"Let's head off now. This place gives me the chills at night." Batka shuddered for extra effect. "It's like someone is watching us from the shadows."

"Actually, can you head up first? I still haven't finished up here."

Batka frowned and tilted his head.

"What else are you doing here? We got what we came for."

"There's… something here that I need to find." Ren debated on telling Batka the full truth, but left it at that. "I don't know how much time we have left, but if you can keep an eye out for any guards or staff of the Church outside the library, that would be great."

"Uhm, I guess that's fine. I don't know how I feel about staying around this place by myself, but I think I'll manage." Batka scratched his head, unsure of letting Ren do his thing alone, but if he figured that if this was something Ren had to do on a personal agenda, this course of action was for the best. "Want me to come down and tell you if something happens or…?"

"We're within a party together, right? You can just remove yourself from the party if there's someone coming. I'll meet you up at the top of the stairs."

Batka widened his eyes, as if Ren came up with a revolutionary idea.

"I never thought about using the Status Magic like that! I'll do just that, Sir Ren!"

Once Batka nodded, the knight quickly made his way back up to the main library, leaving Ren alone to search for the aforementioned book. He was keeping track if the book was within the few aisles that they've scanned through already and he hadn't seen it yet.

He started walking up and down the rest of the aisles, laying his finger along every spine just to make sure he wasn't overlooking it accidentally. It was surely becoming tedious, but Ren managed to persevere through the mindless moving.

It must have taken another five minutes to get through all of the books and time must have been running out quickly, but as his thoughts were telling him to give up, he miraculously found the book again. He immediately tugged it out from its location and glanced at the cover, ensuring that it was the right book.

'_The Records of the Four Holy Weapons_.'

Ren read the title easier once again and quickly made a flip through the first few pages.

As he expected, it was all written in hiragana and he started reviewing the information that he remembered from back when Naofumi was summarizing it for them. The set of books, if what Naofumi read was correct, were becoming parallel in their words.

There was the brief exception that this book mentioned a certain character in the prologue that he didn't know about. Though, Naofumi may have omitted it from his quick summary of the pages. One of the characters mentioned inside had been a princess, but despite her beautiful appearance, she was twisted and manipulative, jumping from hero to hero.

Basically, she was a bitch and a whore.

"_Princess_, huh?" Myne's image appeared in his head. "Guess I know another princess that fits the description of a bitch."

However, as he left the prologue, he noticed that the pages weren't exactly blank like how Naofumi said it was. Instead, it changed languages and he couldn't have figured out what any of it meant. Ren thought it might have been helpful to keep, so he closed the book and dropped it into his inventory.

There might be a chance in the future to learn what it said after all.

"Hmm?"

He must have not noticed it, but when his attention was drawn out from the book, Batka's name from the party menu had gone missing. The knight must have seen someone and was waiting patiently above in order to escape.

He hoped that Batka didn't make the exit for long, but if he did, he would have most likely ran down to check on him when Ren didn't show any signs of coming back up. Honestly, he would have really appreciated it if there were audio cues of party interactions like in _Brave Star Online_.

Not that he used it frequently in the game.

He started to make his way up the spiral staircase, pacing himself quickly as he reached the top under a minute. He was content that he was able to get his hands on the book and perhaps, he would be able to bring it to his friends.

However, Batka was nowhere to be seen.

"... Hey, Batkas?"

Ren looked throughout the library, scanning left to right for any presence of another while being wary of the people that Batka must have seen. Despite his observational skills, he didn't find anyone, much less his own party member.

Chills started to run down Ren's spine as his breathing became a bit heavy.

He didn't like this feeling up his sleeve.

"H-Hey!" Ren tried to shout while keeping a low voice, almost causing a snarl to show up. "_Batkas! Where the hell are you!?_"

His body froze when he caught a glimpse of two small objects on the other side of the statue. They obviously hadn't been there before. Taking another darting perspective of the room, Ren ran up to them to see what they were.

He flinched.

His heart skipped a beat.

They were the books that Batka had been holding and for some reason—

—_there was blood stained on it._

Ren's hands had been shivering in his discovery, but that didn't answer where the hell his party member went. He was a strong knight in relative comparison to him, so it should have taken more than a few hits to keep him down.

Besides, if there was any fighting, Ren would have heard it from below. The spiral staircase might have been slightly deep, but it conveyed echoes well enough that if Batka had shouted, he would have heard from below.

At this point, optimism was tempting to believe in.

Caving down to the belief that would be the best thing to happen in the situation would have been reassuring, but he wasn't Naofumi. It was difficult for Ren to believe so cheerfully that everything would have been alright, especially with red flags screaming for them to be noticed.

'_Where was Batkas?_'

Ren wondered.

'_What happened to him?_'

Ren wondered.

'_Why are these books laying here?_'

Ren kept wondering.

As Ren stood still, staring at the book—

—_blood dripped from above, splattering on the cover._

"W-What…?"

Ren couldn't understand what happened, even though it was so simple to see.

And yet, his body appeared to understand it all too well, despite his mind succumbing to a slowing halt.

His head slowly tilted back as his eyes glanced upwards into the ceiling of the library.

He didn't know how to react. He didn't even know if he should have reacted.

His body was already shaking from the unexpected sight he had just witnessed above.

Once more, blood dripped down from above and this time, it landed on Ren's cheek.

It was warm.

_Don't think about it._

It was warm.

_Don't pay attention to it._

It was very warm.

_Stop looking at it, Ren!_

Why was it warm?

_You won't think straight!_

Why did it have to be warm?

_Tell yourself an excuse!_

Why was he stuck there?

_It's not real!_

Why wasn't he moving?

_It's not real!_

Why didn't he react?

_That's right…!_

_It's… just a game…!_

Because—

—up above the library was a web of wires.

_Please… tell me it's a game..._

And within that—

"_B-Bat… kas…?_"

—Batka's body had been hanging.

_It's not my fault..._

Imprisoned.

Wounded.

Impaled.

Limp.

_It's… _

Before Ren's eyes, _Batka was dead_.

_Was this… my fault?_

…

…

…

The moment Ren got a hold of himself, he started shouting, consequences being damned for when a random staff member of the church caught him. A cold sweat dripped from him and fell onto the floor.

"Hey, Batkas! Batkas, can you hear me!?"

There was clearly no response.

"Batkas!"

He didn't know why he was yelling the party member's name, but the five stages of grief always began with denial. He simply couldn't believe that the knight that was accompanying him was suddenly dead.

One moment, he was smiling and telling Ren that he would be waiting on him and the next, his blood was spilling from the cuts and wounds made by the metal wires that wrapped around his limbs and his neck, tightened so closely that Ren swore he could see bones.

However, this wasn't the time to grief for the knight.

Ren had to slap himself together and recollect his thoughts. Even for him, it might have been a heartless thing to do, but considering the implications of Batka's death, it was something he had to do. The shock brought him into a daze but the realization snapped him out.

Batka wouldn't have been able to do that to himself, not that he wanted to anyways.

Someone else was here.

Someone that was an enemy to him.

Ren found his might within his hands and instinctively clenched them, ensuring they were back in his right state of mind. He took steady breaths to force his heart to beat back to the normal quota, as he started raising his senses back up.

However, it took only a single second for this enemy to catch his target, the same amount of time Ren needed to regain his energy.

There was a man, cloaked in black, waiting from the shadows and the instant Ren looked up, he started to close the distance quickly. The gentle steps transformed into a dashing lunge as the cloaked man revealed a dagger from his sleeve.

Through the eyehole of the man's mask, his amber eyes locked onto the back of his target, looking to be none of the wiser.

Ren heard the movements coming straight for him.

He tried to turn around, holding onto his sword tightly.

He saw the enemy approach at the last second.

He was too late.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 026 : Friends**

[Raphtalia] : "You said that you were friends with the other Cardinal Heroes, Master Naofumi? Can you… tell me more about them?"

[Naofumi] : "Well, let's just start off with the one you've already met. His name is Itsuki Kawasumi and he's the Bow Hero. His appearance makes him look like a timid and soft spoken person, but he's sometimes filled with energy and much more friendlier than one might expect. However, he hates it when people are treated unequally on hatred and desire."

[Naofumi] : "W-Well, I suppose you would regardless if you're with me."

[Raphtalia] : "And what about the Sword Hero?"

[Naofumi] : "My friends said that he's a bit scary at first, but I promise you that if you get to know him, he's not that bad. He's a very serious person at heart and I can appreciate that aspect of him. And I think he does care about us, in his own special way. At least, that's what Itsuki, the Bow Hero, says about him. Those two have known each other longer than anyone else in the group."

[Naofumi] : "I just… wonder what Ren's doing right now. I just hope he's safe."

[Raphtalia] : "He's the Sword Hero, Master Naofumi. I-I'm sure he is!"

[Naofumi] : "Yeah, I sure hope so. Now, you should get some sleep Raphtalia. I'll keep on watch for a while. I still have to understand what I can do as a Cardinal Hero after all and thank goodness there are guides in my menus."

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**


	15. Chapter 1-14 : Falling Down

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

Itsuki never thought fresh air could feel so free.

During his journeys outwards throughout the land of Melromarc during the last week, he had done various quests for the guild, but he and his party were now on a mission to eliminate some bandits that were across the country. Welst, being the person he was, was completely in shock that Itsuki would have wanted to accept it in the first place.

By horseback carriage, it would have taken them at least four days if they didn't make any stops and obviously, another four to get back. They would have been effectively out of the capital for a week and a half, perhaps even two weeks depending on the severity of the situation. However, as Welst was the type to only complain, he begrudgingly went along with the Bow Hero's desires. Both Kojeel and Mald were already open to the idea of long travels.

Though, he was trying to get rid of the issue by keeping his hands filled. He started to teach Itsuki about magic and they eventually discovered his affinities to be earth and air. He had two wind spells, but they both belonged to the weakest class and it ended up being more effective to use his bow.

Anyways, it's already been two days since they last left the capital, leaving Naofumi and Raphtalia to their fates, and midnight had already fallen, entering the third.

It was his turn to be on watch as the warmth of the flames kept him company. Tents were pitched up for Mald and Welst to sleep in and while there had been one for Kojeel, she had been insistent about sleeping outdoors. Her body rested against the tree across from the campfire, but although Itsuki saw that, it felt like a single twig snap could break her dormant state.

Honestly, this silent ambience allowed him to be by himself with his own thoughts.

He always loved _Dimension Wave_ for its zero to hero concept of storytelling and this journey to fulfill the prophecies of the Cardinal Heroes felt almost like the same vein as that game. The only difference was that instead of the characters that he had grown to appreciate, it was his friends that were his main comrades, let alone the group he was partying with now, and it was something that he would have said to be much better.

He was grateful that he wasn't coming into this world alone.

However, if he had to appreciate anything else other than that, it would have been the power that was given to him within the Holy Bow. It was such a strong weapon with so much potential from what he discovered and what he was told about, by the help menus and from Ren.

Not only that, but the basic structure of both strengthening methods he knew about led Itsuki to believe that he'll become super over-powered by the late-game, so to speak. _Brave Star Online_'s enhancements were based on snowballing weapons into stronger weapons and upon stacking that on top of _Dimension Wave_'s methods, it was a recipe for limitless power.

And that was considering that Motoyasu and Naofumi didn't have strengthening methods of their own to discover and share.

Though, there had to be a reason for all this power and Itsuki already knew about it.

It was clearly to correct the world's blatant injustice.

He believed that he and his friends were summoned to save this world, not only from the waves of destruction, but from the evil that corrupted this land and the same evil that has condemned his friend. Though, it was as Kojeel mentioned as he first talked to them about the slavery problem.

His unlimited power was something he'll have to work to get and desperately needed time. As he was now, his party members were still stronger than him and if that was the case, he shouldn't even be thinking about toppling the demi-human slavery problem as Kojeel mentioned. He needed to take small steps at a time like dealing with bandits that were terrorizing the villages.

Though, those slaves are still suffering as he sat there, free underneath the starry skies, watching the fire and kinderling it every so often.

He'd been in a similar state before and he knew firsthand how time feels much slower when you're suffering. As the seconds transform into minutes and minutes into hours, you wonder when the pain was going to end and if it was worth resisting the allures of death.

Every minute, a slave could be mistreated and every hour, a slave could be dead.

He didn't know the true statistics; he was merely trying to be optimistic about them.

As he thought about it, the image of Raphtalia flashed in his memory, shaking as Itsuki removed the dirt from her hair.

The slave trader believed that she was trash and he would have disposed of her if Naofumi never picked her as his slave. He shuddered to imagine the child, dead in her cage, waiting for the hope that never came to her. And yet, Raphtalia was one of the lucky ones.

There must have been countless other children that had their futures sealed away because they didn't have anyone that would help him. That mere thought caused agony to swirl in his heart, not simply out of sympathy, but it was because he understood the feeling.

If Ren never had saved him with their fated encounter, there was no way in hell that he would have been sitting here, within another world as a chosen hero.

He'd probably be dead.

If not done by the world, then it would have been by himself.

Just as Naofumi was Raphtalia's beacon of hope in her time of need, Ren was that same person when they were younger. He was the first person that he could ever consider as his friend and ally against the cruel world.

Though, none of that past mattered much anymore. It may have been what ultimately led him to this world, but there was no reason to dwindle in those shadows. All he had to do was look towards the future, as bright and as powerful as the flame that flickers before him.

…

…

… Keeping on watch duty was really boring, much more than he had initially thought.

He was a hero here; he thought that he should be preserving his energy for more bigger things like fights. He understood that rotational shifts were mandatory to keep it fair, but the thought of sitting around, basically doing nothing was mind-melting.

After the first few times of being on shift, the excitement of standing guard in a fantasy world died down and it left him wondering what he could do during the next few hours.

He silently wished that he had his phone, but even then, there wasn't a guarantee that he'd be able to get it to work, let alone charge it back to full battery. All he was left with was scrolling through his menus, trying to ease the boredom with some reading of the help menus, but that could only go so far.

If he didn't have anything better to do, maybe he'll start picking up that little crafting mechanic he discovered. He basically glossed through it the first time around and never touched it ever since he found out about it.

However, as Itsuki stayed silent, he started hearing a familiar noise.

The sound of a bell had been echoing from a distance.

"... Huh?"

He left the menu and turned his head towards the source.

For a split moment, he noticed a white-haired girl between the splits of the trees. They made eye contact for a little less than a second before the girl turned around and started walking away, as if she was trying to call him over to another place.

Of course, he remembered what happened the first time around.

It led to a trap and he was tempted to ignore it.

However, the expression that was on her expression, despite the stoicness, felt like it was in great pain. Perhaps he was hanging around Ren too much, but it was what he saw in those eyes.

Itsuki knew it might have been a bad idea, but his body started to move by itself. His curiosity overcame his logical thinking.

He looked over to the tents and to Kojeel's sleeping body, hoping that this little distraction wasn't going to take him long. Nothing happened throughout the last few shifts he had, so there was no reason why anything would happen today. He then shuffled away, chasing after the white-haired girl.

* * *

**)**—**(\**IV**| Chapter 1-14 |**IV**/)|**—**(  
)\\( Falling Down )/(**

* * *

He saw the enemy approach at the last second.

He was too late.

The Sword Hero was too quick on his draw.

The blades collided in a metallic clash as the resulting force pushed the two fighters away from each other. Ren caught himself on his feet, dragging the weight of it heavily on his heel. He braced himself and tightened the grip on his sword as the cloaked man pulled out needles immediately, tossing them at him.

They came fast, but Ren instinctively threw the book in his other hand to block some of the needles and duck to dodge the rest. His body moved by itself, acting quickly on the attempted ambush and with his legs dropping to a crouching position, he bursted out the potential, dashing forwards at a rapid speed. His blade, transforming from the [Two-Headed Dog Sword] into a silver-sheathed blade, dragged its tip across the ground, igniting in a bright light as the distance between them closed.

"[Straight Combination]!"

The first attack struck horizontally as the cloaked man took a gentle step backwards to gently evade the attack, but Ren kept up the pressure. His footwork pushed him forwards, assaulting with more wild strikes in a similar manner until the skill finished. The last stroke looked like it would have connected, but the man threw up his dagger before the attack landed and leapt to catch the dagger—

'_No, that wasn't a jump!_'

It was as if the man had flickered to where his dagger. The time it took for Ren to blink was the time that the man needed to have his feet above the attack, but before Ren could react, the man flung his foot straight into Ren's face.

His body went flying, flipping over and catching himself back onto his feet. He slid to a halt, glaring at his opponent as he took heavy breaths. He would have instinctively released his grip on his sword if it weren't for the fact that he can't let go of it.

His health took a considerably sharp drop for merely a single blow, but the pain in his cheek was stinging. The last time he experienced any type of pain was the last time he encountered this enemy and even then, it was instantaneous and he wasn't conscious long enough to feel the full extent. He held his cheek, quietly groaning at the reddened surface, but he never gave his face away.

'_What the hell was that…?_' Ren bit down on his teeth as he reoriented his senses. '_Was that a teleportation technique?_'

"I didn't expect you to snap out of your shock quickly. You've improved from last time, but not by much." The masked man straightened his back, but had his knees bent slightly for posture. "It won't make a difference in your struggle against me. Make things easier for everyone and die where you stand."

Ren couldn't explain his feelings.

They were being stirred up in a storm, brewing all within his heart. However, if he had to stick his hand inside to pull out the one he could define into words, he would have said it was irritation, but in reality, it was simply dread.

It was a dread to fight against the opponent that he lost once before.

It was a dread that sunk in alongside the pain.

It was a dread which made him look away from the reality of the situation.

He couldn't find the words within himself, but they simply started pouring out by themselves.

"_Y-You…_" His fist started to shake; his sword twitched by extension. "You were the one to do this to Batkas, weren't you?"

A silence beckoned the ambience to follow as the two stood, watching each other with severe intent. The masked man glanced onwards, catching the hero's blue eyes between the bangs, as if they were glowing in the shadow-like strands. The man could feel his bloodlust ramming into his body, even from this distance.

"Does it matter what answer I give?" the masked man sighed, as he readied his dagger. "You already made your decision on what the verdict is."

He noticed that Ren's pupils dilated backwards as his sword's shaken state straightened out.

"_Answer my damn question_."

"And you already know the answer."

The masked man rushed forwards, trying to give Ren no time to react between his mental state and his physical body. However, his instincts kicked once again as he swung the blade to collide their weapons, holding themselves in place as they both pushed against each other.

Ren didn't know what type of person Batka was when it boiled down to it. He didn't know if Batka was someone that perceived him as another hero or his own person, the dilemma that Ren had to contemplate about everyone he meets. He didn't know if Batka wanted to use him for his own benefits primarily over comradery, but he supposed he'll never get to know anymore.

Batka died because Ren pushed him away.

Batka died because he didn't trust him.

Those thoughts were agavating to him. He didn't want to take the blame, but his self-consciousness was berating himself on it. However, the two halves were both one agreement on one thing.

He needed to defeat this man, to prove that he had grown since the last encounter and in order to avenge Batka.

He was in front of him, as if he was silently taunting the swordsman.

None of which had been faltering from the sheer logic of needing to escape before Zellus' allotted time window was up. He didn't know how much time he had left, but frankly, he didn't care.

Ren roared and overpowered the deadlock, flinging the masked man backwards, but it looked as if he wanted to back up. He even took a few extra steps away from the swordsman before a giant leap into the skies, landing a few meters above bridges of the second floor, almost as if he was standing on thin air. If

Ren squinted, he would have seen wires serving as the platform, much thinner than the ones used to hang Batka. The fact that he was able to stand on such a fraction of surface area without staggering was baffling.

"You fight as if you expect to defeat me. Do you really think you can do that with your level?"

He didn't have the range to reach the enemy on his sword, but he did have one move specifically for these instances. Ren held up his hand and started channeling.

"I, the Sword Hero, am the source of my power! Hear my—"

Needles unsheathed out of the man's hands, looking down on the swordsman.

"You should really focus on your own survival rather than offense."

The masked man started throwing the needles, equipping his empty hand with even more. Ren wasn't able to finish his casting in time and stopped it immediately. It was a bit annoying how magic spells worked differently here than _Brave Star Online_.

They all flew in a continuous storm towards Ren as he was forced to jump out of the way and run towards a nearby shelf for cover. He could hear the relentless pattering of the needles sticking into the wood.

He assumed that there was a limit to how much the man could throw, so all he needed to do was wait out the onslaught, but as he thought that, the attacks immediately stopped. He figured it was a feint, but he didn't have any way to check safely.

He glanced down on his silver sword, seeing that he could see some of his reflection on his. He decided to poke it out as both a fakeout and visual aid, but he was surprised to see that the masked man was no longer there.

"_Where did that bastard go…?_"

Out of a corner of his eye, a narrow projectile flung at him from a different direction. He pulled himself backwards to dodge it, slamming against the opposite bookshelf and glancing to where it came from, but a few needles had followed in its wake, striking Ren in his shoulder.

'_Shit!_'

He started to move before the paralysis could kick in, but his head turned back in adrenaline.

The masked man was standing on a different piece of the wire and immediately continued his ranged assault, forcing Ren to focus on his escape. He looked behind him to see that the man had been keeping up, adjusting his pathing on the wire as Ren ducked into new aisles.

Ren couldn't get to the man if he stayed up there. It was too high to reach, even if he had made it to the second open-aired floor, but what was more annoying was the wired web that the man must have created before the fight. He didn't look like he was developing it as he went along, but the web was looking to be vast.

Hiding between the shelves wasn't going to help him if the opponent had an aerial perspective, so Ren got another idea.

Some of the bookshelves had been replaced with reading areas, combining two aisles together, and those reading areas had tables. It was wide enough to hold his entire body underneath and the various angles that would have made him exposed were blocked by the shelves.

He swerved himself to the nearest overtop cover, sliding to an halt.

The surrounding was more open than he wanted it to, but it had to do for now.

Ren was heavily breathing, but he noticed that the needles weren't applying any status ailments onto him. He figured that the needles that were used in the alleyway were specifically made and limited. If the enemy was throwing out that many, there was a chance that none of them were applied with the effect in exchange for quantity.

Lying down against the floor, he braced himself and pulled out the three needles that managed to hit him. It didn't hurt as much as he expected it to, but he didn't have much use for them. It simply would have been irritating to have three steel sticks planted in his arm for the fight.

Though, he wondered if the holy sword would take the needles in as material, but unlike the normal method, it rejected the attempt, not even considering it. Clicking his tongue, the only thing left was to dump it into his inventory.

However, his inventory wouldn't take the needles as well.

"_H-Huh…? Why won't it go in…?_"

However, a silence took over as Ren noticed something. Clearly, the needles stopped falling some point after the moment Ren took cover, but he then heard a thump against the topside of the table, as if something dropped onto it.

The next second, a blade thrusted through, narrowly missing Ren's head. Dropping the needles, he rolled over as the blade retreated, thinking he had to keep moving, before he was validated in his judgement. Another blade thrust was sent through, stopping him from leaving the table.

Suddenly, a flurry of stabs, all by a single blade, started quickly penetrating the table, leaving holes that let Ren see that the masked man was directly on top. His sword was connected to his arm; its sheathed state was probably hidden within the sleeve. Ren clenched and pulled in his legs to his stomach, pushing outwards to knock the table off from its legs.

It tipped over as the masked man leapt back into the air, but he threw his dagger directly into Ren. He moved out of the way and threw himself into the sideways table. He glanced backwards to see the masked man teleport to where the dagger landed in the ground, as he deduced.

His opponent did have some type of teleportation skill, but it looked as if it was limited to where the dagger was at the moment.

Ren flipped over the table, so that the hole-filled barrier was in between them, and he pushed the table to slide into the man. He didn't think it would remotely hurt the enemy, but the man had swung his dagger into the middle of the sliding table, cleanly and easily splitting it into two pieces.

However, Ren had seemingly disappeared when the barrier between them had been gone.

He was actually behind the masked man.

The table being sent forwards served as a distraction as Ren kept up his speed behind it. When the man splitted it into two, he kept hiding behind the piece that flung over to the left and the first moment he got, he drove his sword, aiming for the back.

The man, however, sidestepped the thrusting attack and swung his foot around to kick Ren away and into a bookshelf. Some of the contents fell on top of him, but his consciousness hadn't faltered yet and allowed him to land on his feet, albeit they were screaming in pain.

The dagger was thrown once again and Ren caught one of the falling books, forcing the dagger to imprint itself onto the cover.

A second later, the man flashed before him, grabbing his dagger and slicing it out from the textbook which caused Ren to stagger. The dagger then rebounded, aiming for the neck, but Ren was able to block it in his daze. Though, his hand was forced into an uncomfortable form, backhandling the sword.

Ren broke away from the shelves and went down the aisle, backing up to get his posture back in line, but the man wasn't planning to let him have room to breathe. The blade extracted itself from his sleeve again and he chased after the swordsman.

He had to evade it; his sword wasn't in position to use. Every step he took backwards tossed him slightly outside of his slashes and eventually, he was able to return to his normal grip, bouncing back the moment he did.

Their blades slammed against each other at full force.

'_H-He's… strong…!_'

Compared to the fights he's been in within _Brave Star Online_, he hated to admit that this person knew exactly how to apply pressure alongside their combat prowess. It was difficult to find an opening on his guard and that little teleportation ability adds on to it.

He had to watch what the opponent would do.

That was always his strategy in fights; it was to let the enemy make their patterns and act on what information he could gather from that, but he couldn't think straight.

'_N-No… but I'm stronger, dammit!_'

His body was acting by itself, taking a step backwards and pulling back his sword, aiming to strike with his heartbeat in sync. Wild attacks were sent outwards as the man deftly blocked each attempted blow, but he merely sweeped his feet to get a better angle on the block. He never moved backwards as Ren unleashed the flurry, simply watching.

The one opening the man saw, he immediately struck forwards through the storm, stopping it dead in its tracks and penetrating right into Ren's gut with his dagger.

The impact sent Ren rolling backwards, grunting each time he hit the ground, but he managed to use his sword to drag himself to a halt.

He checked the wound. It didn't look fatal and he wasn't exactly screaming in pain, but he could feel his movements slowly start to be hindered by the injury. And yet, he couldn't treat it even if he had the means to right now.

He glanced up only to see that the dagger was flying to his head.

He tilted away from the projected path, but in the heat of the moment, he forgot about the teleportation technique, only remembering when the man disappeared before his eyes. His collar was substantially grabbed and the man dragged him off his feet, throwing him into the remaining parts of the aisle.

Ren grunted as his spine pounded against the marble ground. He hadn't been losing much health from the interactions, but he was starting to get worn out already. There was no opportunity to properly recover though as the dagger flew above his head and the teleportation skill activated, allowing the man to warp right above him.

His dagger ignited in a white light as he caught it, bringing it down onto Ren.

"[Crushing Strike]!"

Ren rolled out of the way as the skill landed, destroying the floor in fragments and dust. The impact was strong enough to send him flying by proxy, but the aerial launching allowed him to reposition himself and land on his feet.

Needles flung themselves into Ren from the attacker and he tried to knock them out of the air. He only managed to drop a few, but the ones that got past impaled his arm. There weren't paralysis-inflicting needles, but the cumulation of successful needles were starting to dent Ren's health.

The masked man followed the hailing projectiles and unsheathed the blade within the sleeve. Now that Ren noticed the motion, it looked as if it was an armblade that was tucked within a gauntlet worn on the wrist downwards, but that was merely trivial information here.

Ren matched the man's attacks through his disadvantaged state.

Left swings were met with right swings. Right slashes were met with left slashes. Overhead drops were met with underhanded uppercuts.

He lost count of how many attacks he must have parried, but his arm was starting to become sore. It was burning up to the point where it remained difficult to match the speed. He could feel the blood spurt out his body every single time the blades connected, grunting in pain as each attack met its retaliation.

However, Ren's eyes were too focused on the opposing weapon.

As the man pulled back the armblade, the man followed up by sending an uppercut to the chin in a rapid succession. He went flying over the shelves and landed onto one of the top surfaces.

He coughed hoarsely as he struggled to stand up, watching as the man leapt up onto the same level with distance being separated between the two fighters. Though, as he was shown, distance meant shit against a man who could teleport.

Though, he had to wonder what the cost of that teleportation skill was. He highly doubted that the man could use it infinitely, but he was using it freely with no visual reprimands. It was as if it was less of a skill and more of a feature the man had access to.

Ren tried standing up, finding that the shelves underneath his feet were sturdy enough to properly fight on top, but the patterned landscape of surface and hole was going to make it difficult to position. There was no way he could keep up here.

On the other end, the man landed on the same level and started running forwards, brandishing his dagger as Ren's mind raced just as fast, though not knowing concretely as to what he should do.

If the fight continued at this rate, Ren would be meeting his grave. That thought alone was embarrassing, considering Naofumi and Motoyasu were less experienced, yet survived for much longer than him. And he supposed that the other heroes aren't going to be too pleased to hear that he had dropped out of the running this early on.

'_I suppose this is the part where I try out what Zellus gave to me, but I need some space. He'll rush me if I'm trying to do something like that spell I tried out. That alone is going to be a problem._'

He had to figure out how he could get a few seconds by himself.

He first thought about accessing the entrance of the hidden passageway near the statue and hiding in there, but a quick glance would tell him that it's closed up already. He needed more time to activate the staircase again than it took to actually use the technique and there's no way that he'll be able to get that time.

Losing the man isn't going to be an option either nor is ducking into one of the random aisles. Considering the web-like wires that were set up above, he couldn't escape from the aerial perspective.

Options were limited, if not then non-existent.

'_It doesn't matter if I don't have a plan! I can't be a sitting duck for him!_'

He dropped down back to the first floor and started running, trying to feel out the limitations to the enemy's movements. However, he saw the dagger fly upwards and the man teleported, landing on a wire. He pulled out more needles and restarted his ranged assault.

Either his throws started to become faster or Ren was starting to slow down, because his right leg felt the full extent of the needles, dropping down onto his knee and desperately threw himself into cover between two shelves.

It stung deeply as cold sweat started to drip from Ren's forehead. His breathing became irregular, not minding any type of healthy rhythm, and he couldn't fix any of that. In a few seconds, the man would have a better position to attack and it'll play out the same way as last time.

There was no time to activate the technique here, so he focused on pulling as many needles as he could from his thigh. There were at least six of them, but he could only remove four before the man's figure appeared in the corner of his eye.

With a last ditch effort, Ren responded out of spite by throwing the needles back at the man, but his aim was very off. It didn't even come close as the masked man visually followed the projected path, almost pitying the poor attempt.

Ren swore under his breath and clicked his tongue.

'_Damn, Itsuki makes those shots look easier than I thought._'

If he had to be honest, he could have sworn the needles literally curved away.

The masked man unsheathed more needles from his hand.

'_And how many fucking needles does this guy have on him!?_'

Ren tried to escape down the pathway, but as he turned around, the needles struck his back, pushing his down onto the floor. His health bar was starting to see critical levels, passing the forty percent mark, and he was feeling it too. With his face flat on the ground, he found trouble moving about.

Though, he realized that one of the needles this time around had a paralysis effect to them.

_That_ would probably explain his inability to move.

He could hear the masked man walking up from behind him and that meant his death was impending. All he could do was lie there and wait for his health to drop to zero, but he had another way out.

After the last time, he made sure to stock up on status ailment medicine from the markets, just in case if problems like last week arose again. This included medicine for paralysis and they were all in his inventory.

He didn't have to physically drink it to experience the effects. He could have the inventory inject the medicine into his body, albeit for a lesser effect, but he was certain that it would be enough to give him his movement again. That was one of the benefits of the inventory of the Status Magic.

The problem came in the presence of the masked man.

The moment he showed any signs of freedom, he'd probably be slammed down again and Ren only had limited medicine; that is, if his limited health didn't drop down first.

In the midst of his agony, Ren developed an odd idea that hinged on a gambit if the masked man would notice. Frankly, it was better than nothing, so he decided to make his attempts.

He looked into his list of weapons and found the one that Zellus wanted him to copy before the operation.

"_Look, I don't expect you to totally master Magic Equipping this very moment," Zellus said, "but I feel like this is something that you'll find to be helpful. I can even give you some training wheels to ease you into the technique."_

_Zellus had removed the saber from his sheath and gave it to Ren._

"_Magic Equipping requires you to use the natural life force to manipulate the magic flow of your spells. Of course, you'll need to cast your spell first and foremost, but once you do, you can redirect the magic into your own body or weapon to amplify it for a set amount of time and with a varied strength, depending on the spell you were casting."_

"_Life force?"_

"_Don't worry about the nitty-gritty details about that."_

"_So what good is giving me this sword?"_

"_As a Cardinal Hero, you can copy weapons, right?" Zellus watched as Ren carefully took the saber from his hand, observing it keenly. "One of my hobbies, other than combat, is creating swords. I always pass on my failures to the castle's armoury, but the ones I deem as a success are the ones I keep with me. This is one of them and I think the skill attached to this sword might help you get used to the feeling of life force and magic manipulation."_

_Ren didn't exactly understand it, but if Zellus was essentially giving him a sword to copy, he'd be damned to refuse the offer for a free weapon to add to the list. He scanned the entirety of it and the menu popped up, giving him the choice to use [Weapon Copy]._

_He opened the weapon to check its stats, but he was confused when he saw it._

Ren quickly changed his sword to Zellus' saber before the masked man could notice, but as the man came closer, he stepped on the swordsman's back with heavy weight. Ren was forced out of a grunt as the foot eased within to deform his spine.

"To think that you're one of the Cardinal Heroes," the masked man scoffed. "Truly pathetic. You are indeed weak, Sword Hero. Doesn't that make you angry that you can't do anything against me? Doesn't it piss you off that the world would force you into an unwinnable situation?"

'_What the hell is he going on about?_'

"Your friend, the Shield Hero, was the first to fall. All the other Cardinal Heroes will soon follow in steps. Doesn't it sound unfair to be summoned to a world, being deemed as heroes, only to be eventually treated inversely?"

Ren had to resist the pain and focused on his objective at hand. If the masked man was busy speaking nonsense and having a one-way conversation, he had a chance to pull this off.

He opened up his inventory and applied the paralysis medicine, but he didn't dare to move yet. He couldn't show any signs that the medicine was working through the system until the technique was finished. He went to recall what Zellus said about it.

"_You might want to keep in mind that Magic Equipping is a little special," Zellus continued. "When you're using normal spells, you're expected to focus your mana into the projected direction. That's the entire reason for that stupid and weird chant at the beginning. It's to help bring all that mana together and aim it with precision alongside power."_

_Ren silently chuckled. _

_He guessed he wasn't the only one that thought the entire incantation for the spells were dumb for themselves, especially when compared to _Brave Star Online_. In that game, there was no such thing as chanting. If you wanted to use a spell, all you needed to do was think about using it and depending on how long it's charged for, the power would vary._

"_When you're intending to use Magic Equipping, it doesn't matter where you're aiming that spell. You're interrupting the mana flow anyways with life force and in the case of the training wheels, using the skill immediately at the end of the chant will convert it to the technique."_

Ren took a deep breath.

"Do you have nothing to say about the situation at hand?" the masked man went on. "Was showing you your party member's state not enough for you to feel an _unstoppable wrath_?"

"_I, the Sword Hero, am the source of my power…_"

Ren closed his eyes and tried to shut down his body's senses, feeling only the concentration for the magic spell he needed to make. If Zellus was right about what he said, it didn't matter where he would shoot the spell, but if he was lying, Ren would be injuring himself in the process. His hand had been positioned on his stomach after all.

Though, it wasn't as if he had any other choice.

"_Hear my words and create a projectile out of the natural flow…_"

"Is this all you're really capable of? If that's the case, then there is no more use for you if you can't even grant yourself access to _that_ weapon series. You have not done anything wrong, but it's simply the circumstances that must be adhered to." The masked man raised his dagger and aimed it for Ren's spine. "Your life in this world will end here, Sword Hero."

The chanting was essentially finished, but he wasn't going to take any risks.

He rolled away and transitioned to a leap, opening the distance between the masked man and himself. From the slight delay the man had, he was probably surprised that he was able to break out so easily, but that wasn't exactly the case. His movements were too sluggish, but it will have to do.

He couldn't redirect the flow of magic, but it didn't matter anyways.

"[Faust Aqua Shot]!"

The light from his hand surged as he felt the waters formed, aiming at himself. The masked man was incredibly confused at Ren's motion, but that split second gave him all the time he needed to activate the skill and thus, the new technique.

_Ren looked at the saber and tried reading it again, but he couldn't make heads-or-tails of it._

"_Hey, Zellus?" He glanced up at the knight. "I think there's something wrong with this weapon."_

"_There shouldn't be any issues. It's a weapon I made after all!" Zellus smiled like one of those car sales people that try to convince you that you're making a good choice in buying their product. "All you really need is the skill attached to it."_

_Ren read the weapon's status menu and he could indeed read one thing according to this weapon, but really, that was all he could see. To add, it was in a weird place too. Everything else was in question marks, as if the data for that area was either not found or corrupted._

_This was the first weapon Ren had seen like this ever since he came to this world._

The masked man caught himself quickly out of the daze and threw his dagger at Ren to stop him from whatever he was trying to do.

"_Are you sure?"_

"_Yeah, I'm sure," he answered confidently. "If this world has any type of philosophies correct, it's that the weapon is only as strong as the user. Though, I feel like it takes it a little bit too literal sometimes. The real meaning behind that philosophy is something I've developed through these weapons, so take good care of that saber, Ren."_

_Nevertheless, Ren couldn't stop to be curious at this unique formatting, especially the new skill he obtained._

**[?/?/?] ?/?/?/? Unknown Rarity  
(Equip Bonus) : ?/?  
(Special Effect) : ?/?  
(Mastery Level) : ?/?  
(Item Enhancement) : ?/?**

It was a skill that when literally translated in his language, read as [Magic Reincarnation], which was quite fitting for a technique that repurposes the magical spell.

**(?/?/?) :**

"[Mahou Tensei]!"

As the dagger came near, Ren's body bursted with a surrounding body of water, but his clothes weren't drenched in the liquid. It was like a flowing piece of armour that was equipped, all in the single moment.

The dagger's projected path was redirected by the wet explosion, flinging it upwards, but the masked man teleported to it and fell right back down to Ren, having a blade with his neck's name written on it.

Ren tightened his grip on his sword and almost instantly converted all of the magic into the unnamed sword, sheathing it entirely into a compact size of a blade, one that was much larger than the original.

"Take this!"

He screamed his attack, swinging the water blade into the masked man as he blocked with his dagger. However, it seemed like the man hadn't been expecting this type of strength as the power immediately overcame him and knocked him into the distance.

The man took a single rough bounce before he could drag himself to a halt on his feet. The man glared at the swordsmen with his amber eyes showing quite the displeasure.

"_Huh_. I wasn't informed about this ability of yours."

"And you won't be." Ren held the saber with both hands and postured it before him. His breaths were still ragged, but the magic in his body were helping him from dropping onto the ground out of exhaustion. "This is where my counterattack begins, so you better prepare yourself for a heavy beating."

"No, you misunderstand." The masked man shook his head, causing Ren to raise his eyebrow. "I've already seen that ability in action. I simply never expected you to be taught it in secret, but that doesn't change anything."

He remembered that Zellus had to fight this man on the day of Naofumi's trial, so it would make sense if Zellus used the same technique in that duel.

"You've been granted bonus attack stat," he continued, "but that attack stat is still meaningless if you can't hit your target."

Ren scoffed at the man's taunt.

"_Wanna test that out? Don't come crying when you're lying dead on the ground._"

He rushed forwards with his new power, and likewise, so did the masked man.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

Having his bow in hand, Itsuki came out of the forested area to find a small cliffside, filled with a lustrous grassy plain before the sudden drop. The night's embrace of the scenery gave ambience alongside the dimly lit and scattered stars as the cold wind brushed against Itsuki's cheeks, bringing upon a refreshing floral scent in the air.

However, the white-haired girl stood with her back faced away from him. Her hair and clothes were shimmering in the subtle breeze as she looked into the horizon. There wasn't a single village that could be seen from and if there was, there would have been no reason for his party to sleep out here. There were simply the grassy fields, littered with trees, and hills for as far Itsuki could see.

He stood in silence, but he didn't know why. It could have been that he was confused as to why the girl had shown herself her or perhaps it was simply because the scene was breathtaking, but it was the girl who voiced herself outwards first.

"Bow Hero. Please come sit."

Next to her, there had been a rock with a somewhat flattened surface. It would have perfectly served as a makeshift chair, so he slowly approached the girl in both curiosity and being wary. He couldn't sense any malicious intent from her and it sounded more like she simply wanted to talk with him.

He took his place next to the girl and crossed his legs.

Though, he couldn't stop looking at the girl. Her beauty was defined in an angelic atmosphere, but a monotone expression stayed still, almost as if it was an endless appearance. She paid no attention to how Itsuki was sitting, having her eyes locked to the background.

"Bow Hero, I have a question." She tilted her head upwards into the dark skies, twinkling slightly here and there. "What exactly are stars?"

"Stars?"

Itsuki shared the view with the girl out of sheer instinct.

Honestly, it took him back all those years ago, but instead of the girl beside him, it was Ren who would gaze upwards to catch the sparkling stars over their heads.

When he was younger, they would always try to hunt for any shooting stars that launched themselves across the skies. There was always the myth that making a wish against them would result in it coming true, but when they became older, it became clearer that they would have to make their wish come true of their own volition. Embarrassing as it might be, he was the one to latch onto that idea of a wish until Ren shook him out of it.

"Well, it's just a big ball of energy, isn't it?" Though, that answer was assuming this world was based on the same natural phenomenon. He was simply trying to remember the technical details from classes. "Stars simply wait until they explode into nothingness."

"Then why is it that people believe that the spirits of the past watch down on the present from those very stars?"

He supposed there were things like that spreading around back in Japan, like the tall tale of the shooting star.

"It's… probably a way of comfort. Knowing that the people we knew are keeping an eye on you could be a reassuring thing for them." Itsuki sighed as he said that, not having anyone come to mind when he answered her.

"Is that so...? Even when the truth exists, people still choose to blindly believe what comforts them..."

Itsuki glanced back at the bow, resting on his lap.

"Look. Who exactly are you?" Itsuki muttered. "Why are you showing up before me?"

"Your collected information about my data will not benefit you in any way, shape, or form. Therefore, I see that there is no reason for you to know my identity. At least, for the time being." The odd mannerism of her speech struck Itsuki as odd. "However, you shall benefit in knowing that I do not have intentions to harm. That is to say, I am, on all bases of technicality, an ally."

Itsuki held his breath.

Despite the unknown atmosphere he'd encounter, he didn't know what he should have been asking, regardless if there were questions that were obvious to ask in these types of situations. Thankfully, the girl had continued to speak, filling in Itsuki's blanks.

"In your respective terms, you may think of me as a part of… your 'tutorial'. I believe that is the correct terminology for it, though I would be led to believe that this tutorial is much more important than others."

"I don't even know who you are, and you led me to a trap before. How do you expect me to trust you?"

"You speak of the incident one week ago, correct? I can assure you that the imagery you saw was not of my production. That was a creation of what you can conceive as your enemy."

"That's hard to believe. How do I know you're not trying to make me fall into another trap?"

"Why did you follow me here if that was your concern? There is hypocrisy in your question."

Itsuki bit his tongue and decided to move on.

"What do you want from me? You said something about a tutorial?"

"I've been observing you and your friends."

Itsuki almost flinched at the sudden bluntness of the statement. It definitely interrupted the somber mood around them as he scrunched up his eyebrows in an unexplainable emotion. It was probably somewhere along the lines of curiosity and being crept out.

There must have been a better way to say it.

"_T-That… Uh…_"

"I wanted to see what defines a bond. That's one of the reasons as to why I interfered with the summoning ritual directly."

Itsuki didn't know what the hell she was going on about, but he kept listening to what she was saying.

"My orders were strict. I needed to merely protect the world, but I have seen enough of the heroes falling into despair over being placed into this world so suddenly. I wanted to see why they were feeling such a strong emotion and perhaps, I wondered if the heroes knew each other already, they would not succumb to the innate response. This would indeed bring out their strongest potential, but as well, it would allow me to see firsthand these bonds that my master would often reminisce about in his life."

Her voice was calming and so serene, but he could feel the weight that she was carrying with every word. Nevertheless, Itsuki still didn't understand why she was telling him any of this. She was basically a stranger to him and hopefully, she knew that herself.

"And yet, the world does not work the way I would have liked it to. Convenience is subject to luck and I have lost the gamble, so to speak."

"What do you mean?"

"These bonds that were transported over to this world are being threatened and I require your assistance."

It took a few seconds for Itsuki to connect the dots. If she was referring to him and his friends as the bonds she was watching over, then if it's being threatened, it would only mean that one of them was deflecting from the group.

Though, he didn't know who out of the friends would do such a thing.

Naofumi couldn't be bargained to betray his friends, even if it was for his life. His heart was gentle and acted like the big brother for everyone in the group.

Motoyasu was too friendly to turn his back on the people he lived with for the past years. Even when the trial against Naofumi occurred with plenty of evidence, Motoyasu still wanted to believe.

Even Ren had a sense of loyalty to the group, despite what he would say at times. From the outside, it looks like he's simply angry or annoyed at them, but he's telling them what was wrong upfront in the hopes that they would reflect.

And the last member was right here, aware of what he was doing right now, and it certainly didn't have to do anything with breaking apart their bonds. He hoped.

"Being threatened? How?"

"Your friend, the Sword Hero, is facing his death as we speak within the capital of Melromarc."

Itsuki's eyes widened.

"W-What!? Wait, what's going on with Ren!? Why is he facing his death!?" he shouted, immediately standing up from his seat. He stomped towards the girl in anguish. "Why are you telling me this!?"

If she had the ability to follow Itsuki like this, it would be implied that she could be doing the same alongside Ren as a part of her observations. If she had the opportunity to meet up with him, she had the opportunity to help out Ren.

"Why are you coming to me about this!? I'm already far from the capital!" Itsuki threw out his arm. "If you can appear to me like this, just go to Ren and help him out if you don't want him to die!"

"I cannot. He is the Sword Hero, so I can't communicate with him."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!?"

"In this instance, you're the only one that may provide help for your friend. It may be a small push, but it could be enough to save his life."

The girl turned to Itsuki as he was surprised to see that she had been holding a crystal ball the entire time. Though, he didn't remember seeing her hold anything when he glanced over for the first time. It was as if it simply appeared in her hand on demand, just like their inventory system.

There had been a moving image on it and Itsuki leaned in to see what was going on inside.

Itsuki's jaw dropped, noticing that it was none other than Ren, fighting while he was substancing injuries. He had a blade of water alongside him as it clashed blades against his enemy. He couldn't figure out where they were, but it was definitely a place with many books around.

However, Itsuki gasped when he saw who the enemy was.

"That masked man!"

"I fear that he will not be able to survive this encounter."

"What the hell am I supposed to do about this!? I have no idea where Ren is, I probably have no way to reach him, and you're telling me there's a way I could help him!?"

Itsuki's heart started to race, seeing that Ren was being beaten badly. Nevertheless, the perseverance that his friend had was powering through the pain and he kept standing up, throwing attacks after attacks. He was starting to have his back against the wall, especially if it looked like he was recklessly firing off strikes and skills.

"This is where your tutorial comes into play."

All of a sudden, Itsuki's menus started to glitch. It gave him a fright, but indistinguishable words started to flow along his screen. It was like a normal person looking into a heavy cipher of code, but when it all disappeared, his help menu started to be bolded, as if it was indicating that something was added.

He went to open it up and scrolled to the bottom of the help menus, seeing a new piece of text.

However, everything was still illegible.

"Bow Hero, answer me this."

Itsuki's perspective was starting to be consumed by the glitched state. He could feel it wrap around his body in an invisible force, but despite the unsettling feeling, Itsuki didn't fight back against it.

"How far will you go to help your friends in need?"

"H-How… far…?"

How far would he go?

They were his friends, so the answer should have been obvious.

"Even if you are casted as a villain in the process, will you save your friends?"

However, that concern struck him.

He wanted to become a hero ever since his life started to turn around. He never wanted to see people in the same sorry state that he was thrown into, but being a hero of justice was something practically impossible back in his world. That's why there was comfort in video games, where the hero's journey is predetermined and outlined already; it is easy to imagine himself within the world too.

That's why when he was brought into this world, being deemed as a hero of prophecy, he was excited. He adored this turn of events and he looked forward to raising up to greatness alongside his friends.

… _alongside his friends…_

Itsuki clenched his fist.

"Even if I die," he quietly whispered, "I want them to live."

The girl blanklessly stared at Itsuki, almost judging the way he answered it.

"Even if you have to give everything, including your dreams, will you give them all to your friends?"

"I know that they're good people. There's no way I could step on them in order to achieve my dreams."

Itsuki brought the fist close to his chest as he looked into the girl's eyes. His mouth started moving by himself as the invisible force started to tighten around him.

"I will save them!" he shouted. "Even if it kills me, I'll give my friends my power whenever they need it!"

**[Itsuki Kawasumi]  
Class : Bow Hero LV12**

**[Job Levels]  
Attack LV2 3/11  
Magic LV2 0/11  
(…)**

The invisible force collapsed on him and he suddenly felt weak in his legs. He dropped back down onto the rock, catching himself as his Status Magic caught his attention.

**[Itsuki Kawasumi]  
Class : Bow Hero LV1  
Transfer : Sword Hero +LV11**

**[Job Levels]  
Attack LV0 0/0  
Magic LV0 0/0  
(…)**

**[Transferred Job Levels]  
+Attack LV2  
+Magic LV2  
(…)**

'_H-Huh…? What happened to my…?_'

His levels were gone, except for one. His stats adjusted accordingly.

His job levels were reduced down to the bottom, despite it being impossible to lose them.

He didn't know what just happened, but underneath the missing categories, there were the stats that he had been missing. The difference was that it was listed as a transfer, something he didn't know about.

[**Attention]  
[The Bow Hero and the Sword Hero are now l̵̨̯̪̲̇̈́̋̇̀i̵̲̇ṉ̶̝͓̭̾͗̉̃ḵ̵̛͘e̷̘̥̗̟͗̽́̉d̴̦̳̲̼͑̊̅̓̿ ̴̡͖͍̤̀t̶̳͍̠̲̑ö̵̠̖ĝ̸̢̧̟͉̘é̷͍̱͝t̷͚̙̩̘̰͆̆̆̓̔h̵̹͖̓ḙ̶̼̆͂͐r̷̪̣̹͛̂͝͠ͅ.]**

"Remember this power, Bow Hero."

When he looked back to the girl, she was already gone, as if the wind took her body away with the wind. However, her voice still echoed along the breeze, distant yet close.

"_I will be watching over from now on. Please protect those bonds you treasure and show me what they mean to you. Allow me to understand those emotions, Bow Hero._"

"H-Hey…! What's the meaning of this!? Why are my levels gone!?"

Itsuki tried to stand up, but he staggered forwards, falling onto knees and hands. He could feel the energy starting to slowly return to his body, but his stats weren't moving at all in conjunction.

He had so many questions about what just happened to him, but the girl hadn't been answering any of them. She was completely gone, but when Itsuki thought about the recent interaction, he realized that he didn't even know one of the basics.

"... _You could at least tell me your name, damn it!_"

"_It's Metatron._"

He jolted upwards when the voice of the girl responded, but for some reason, he felt like that as the only thing she was going to respond to.

He glanced up into the stars, as he felt like there were more up in the skies than before.

"Metatron, huh…? Ren better… be safe…"

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

"Gah!"

Ren collided with the bookshelf hard and caused it to fall over onto the bookshelf behind it. The strength wasn't enough to conduct a domino effect, but he was starting to become light-headed. Blood was spilling from his forehead and he couldn't feel his arms anymore. Despite his effort, he was still being pinned with needles as new injuries were present along his legs, chest and shoulders. The wounds accumulated to the point where he couldn't even open his left eye.

Even with the technique that Zellus gave to him, he was on the losing side. It was frankly annoying how despite feeling the powerful magic inside of him, he was still getting curb-stomped. His health was at the lowest it ever been, in both this land of Melromarc and within the world of _Brave Star Online_, breaking past the final ten percent.

The masked man walked up to the collapsed swordsman, barely wounded and touched. He felt the wires being tightened around his leg and the power dragged him up into the skies like a pianta, hanging just as Batka was.

The blood rushed into his head as he was brought upside down. In the distance, he could see Batka's still body struck in his own personal web and the fears started to sink in.

He was going to die.

He didn't want to die.

"I'll admit. You've been giving me some trouble."

The masked man reappeared above Ren, standing on the wire above him.

The water blade had ceased its duration. He was left with only the sword stuck in his hand, but he could try to break out using another [Mahou Tensei]. Though, the skill itself was expensive on his SP meter, added onto the fact that he needed MP for the initial magic spell. He honestly didn't know if he had enough to make it worthwhile, especially when the skill drained SP overtime while active.

"_D-Damn it…_"

Ren couldn't think straight any more, but kept up his strong face.

"_You're not getting away… with this…_" Ren groaned in pain. "_The Church isn't getting away with this…_"

The masked man stayed silent, as if he was processing something, before he made an amused scoff.

"The Church? You must be gravely mistaken."

Ren hung up silently. He was surprised, but there wasn't any energy left in his face to change his expression.

"As a sign of pity for your delusions, allow me to invoke a single truth for you. I do not work for the Church of Three Heroes or for anybody relating to that organization. I work with aligned goals with the aide of the king."

'_Aldrecht…? He was the one to do this!? Well, at least that confirms something...! So that behaviour at Naofumi's trial was a lie…!_'

"The truth is painful and the things that we must do are painful."

The masked man tugged on his finger and suddenly, Ren found himself surrounded by transparent needles, all pointing towards him. It was probably one of his skills.

"If your emotional state is strong, then we won't bother with you. However, I heard that the Four Cardinal Heroes are close friends. I wonder if showing one of them your dead body would be enough for them to unleash the cursed series."

"_You leave… Itsuki out of this…_"

His whispers started to break through his pain out of sheer willpower as he glared upwards at the masked man. The embedded emotion laid within his eyes had been alit.

"_Don't… you dare get close to him…!_"

"Did I hit a nerve?" The masked man's hand paused before it could unleash the skill, as if he was curious to read Ren's reaction. "Perhaps it will be the Bow Hero I will visit afterwards. After making the Shield Hero into a criminal and the Sword Hero into a criminal, I'll rearrange the plans to make the Bow Hero a criminal."

Ren's eyes dilated back. He gritted his teeth.

He knew it was Itsuki's dream to be a hero.

"_I'll kill you…!_" Ren's voice trembled, yet stayed firm. He was trying to shake himself out of the tight restraints despite his lack of strength. "_I won't… let you take his dream away from him…!_"

"_That's_ what I want to see." The masked man crouched down, bringing his face closer to the hero. "Let me see that wrath, Sword Hero. Sink yourself deeper and break away the sounds of sanity."

His body felt like it was burning up. Every heartbeat he experienced pounded in his ears. He wanted to let loose, if that meant that he would be able to kill the man before he could reach his childhood friend. He hated people like the masked man, casually stepping all over them like they were nothing.

"_Damn you…!_"

However, a voice started echoing in his head.

'_I want them to live…_'

It was Itsuki's voice.

'_I will save them…_'

The familiar voice soothed him briefly before his body started to become light.

His Status Magic started to glitch out. All the menus started to flicker as confusion struck across his face.

**[Ren Amaki]  
Class : Sword Hero LV16**

**[Job Levels]  
Attack LV3 1/23  
Magic LV0 2/5  
(…)**

In one single burst, the entirety of the Status Magic was refreshed. Even the man widened his amber eyes behind his mask, surprised to feel a subtle surge of power coming from the Sword Hero.

"What's this…?" the man muttered. "There's… another person present? What's going on?"

**[Ren Amaki]  
Class : Sword Hero LV16  
Transfer : Bow Hero -LV11**

**[Job Levels]  
Attack LV3 + Attack LV2  
Magic LV0 + Magic LV2  
(…)**

[**Attention]  
[The Bow Hero and the Sword Hero are now l̵̨̯̪̲̇̈́̋̇̀i̵̲̇ṉ̶̝͓̭̾͗̉̃ḵ̵̛͘e̷̘̥̗̟͗̽́̉d̴̦̳̲̼͑̊̅̓̿ ̴̡͖͍̤̀t̶̳͍̠̲̑ö̵̠̖ĝ̸̢̧̟͉̘é̷͍̱͝t̷͚̙̩̘̰͆̆̆̓̔h̵̹͖̓ḙ̶̼̆͂͐r̷̪̣̹͛̂͝͠ͅ.]**

Ren didn't particularly understand it, but his stats all became raised somehow. All of it were accordingly adjusted such that he wasn't Level 16 anymore, but if he judged it correctly, he was as strong as a Level high-twenties.

And what was this about the Bow Hero?

"_It… suki?_"

"I supposed I delayed this for long enough. I'll move on towards the next Cardinal Hero after you."

The masked man started to be confused over the outcome and as such, he didn't want the Sword Hero to be pulling any extra tricks up his sleeve. He raised his hand and released the skill, launching all of the transparent needles to impale the target.

"Like hell I'll let you!"

Ren felt time move slowly as he watched the attack come closer to him, but a familiar grasp held onto him. He didn't know how he knew, but it was as if Itsuki was right by his side and with that realization, the Sword Hero started chanting.

It was impossible to complete the spell in time, but his mouth simply moved, perhaps even faster than he expected out of himself. His mind was quiet as the words merely echoed within him.

"I, the B̷͈̬̰͌ó̶̬̥̹͕̊̂̾ẘ̸̬̲̞̅̈́ ̵̠͖͆͛̑H̸͓̙͠e̴̪͠r̶͎̎o̶̲̥͎͆ Sword Hero, am the source of my power. Let the winds converge and shoot forwards!"

The masked man flinched, hearing the rapid chanting as the needles closed in closer.

"[Faust Wind Shot]! [Mahou Tensei]!"

The needles were blown away from a sudden burst of air, deflecting all of the intended projections and even pushed the masked man away with the strong gust. The masked man flipped over in the air and caught himself on the second floor's bridges, glancing up in shock.

"_Wind_ _affinity_? Impossible! The sources said that the Sword Hero only had water and support affinities!"

However, Ren was still stuck in the wires. With his body basking in an armour of wind, he felt power return to his body. He tried to slice the wire off, given that he was given the space to, but the wires themselves were still too strong.

For some reason, his will to fight back rushed into his blood as the masked man was caught in the corner of his perspective. His movements were limited by the wires, especially while being upside down, but he still had his sword hand free.

The masked man pulled out some of his needles and started throwing them at the hanging Ren, but he transferred the magic into the sword. His clothes started to ruffle from the energy as he took a single swing into the masked man's direction.

"Hyahhhh!"

The needles defected away from the wind blast that emerged from the slash. The masked man himself had a difficult time keeping his eye on Ren, needing to turn away to avoid the attack head on. His feet were pushed slightly back a few centimeters from the force, but it wasn't enough to do any type of damage.

Ren kept throwing wind blasts towards the masked man, pressuring him to stay still, but it was becoming difficult since his attacks were moving himself around.

Nevertheless, he concentrated all his might into his attacks and the masked man had to focus on not being blown off the bridge. He weighed himself down, but he couldn't move from his place.

The masked man brought out his dagger and threw it to the side, but that ended up throwing him backwards in the whirlwind. It didn't matter for long, as he quickly teleported to where it was thrown and used the moment to throw it above into the ceiling. The blade stuck into the surface as Ren tried to keep up, but he was too late.

Ren's wind blast missed as the man teleported up to the top and in one burst, he unsheathed his armblade and dashed into the hero, igniting the blade in a light. He was aiming to end things immediately, but Ren tried his best to space them out, except there was a problem.

His SP ran out and the wind dissipated.

'_C-Crap...! That only bought me a minute or so…!_'

"Show me, Sword Hero! Be kicked down and survive with nothing! Invoke that hatred or disappear!"

Ren gritted his teeth and instinctively winced as he saw the blade rush forwards to him. If there had been any tricks left up his sleeve, he would love to see it now. Otherwise, he was—

"_You know, there are better places to hang around._"

**[Attention]  
[You have been marked with [Anti-Status Magic (Absolute)].]**

"Huh?"

"T-That voice…! It can't be…!"

The notification popped up before his eyes, the same one that showed up when he fought that rookie knight. He didn't understand why it showed up now of all times, but the masked man looked disgruntled in the quick second that he looked over.

A swinging foot collided into the man's mask.

Ren could see cracks starting to form as the man's body was sent downwards into the first floor, falling like a shooting star, and breaking through everything he crashed into.

Ren watched in silence, trying to let his mind catch up with the scene, as the mysterious newcomer landed on the second floor's railings, checking to see the damage that was made. A few seconds passed until Ren could break through his disbelief, calling out to the familiar knight.

"Sorry for the terrible pun. Couldn't resist."

"Z-Zellus!?"

Zellus pulled out a dagger whose blade was bent at a forty-five degree second and tossed it into the distance of a seemingly random direction. However, Ren quickly noticed that it had a boomerang property as it looped around the room and easily sliced through Ren's restraints, dropping him down to a big fall.

His quick instincts told him to grab the cut wires and it allowed him to swing himself to where Zellus was, catching himself onto the railing in a rough landing.

"Why are you here!?"

"Well, you two didn't show up like how we agreed on, so I figured something was happening here. Especially when a trap was being thrown for me at the same time. It sounds like we were set up by whoever informed the king."

'_It was the same for Zellus? Then Aldrecht really is our enemy…!_'

"I… I can deal with this by myself now." Ren climbed over the railing and stood onto the platform, glaring at the pile of broken shelves that housed the current enemy. There weren't movements, but doubted that Zellus' attack was the final one. "I only got caught because he played dirty. I won't let that happen again."

"_You_ should focus on escaping. I'll take over from here."

"_I can fight, Zellus!_" he hollered. "Don't tell me what to do!"

"_I'm serious_. This is no time to be puffing out your chest."

Zellus, through his whimsical expressive nature, held onto a serious tone that could kill, causing Ren to flinch. However, he grinned immediately after, shaking off the pretense as if it was nothing.

"You haven't gained enough combat experience to be able to handle him and as much as I love seeing those underdog fights, there's a difference between a potential for a dark horse victory and total annihilation. One is intense and the other is boring."

"W-What…!?"

"And besides, the skill I used should be taking its toll right about now."

"What are you…!?"

Ren suddenly coughed out blood, covering with his hand and staining it in a red dye. His wounds started to hurt like hell as he fell over on his good knee and watched in horror. His blood felt like they were burning him alive from the inside and out.

He looked to check his health bar, only to realize that it was in a glitched state again like his duel with the rookie knight. Like the first time, there were no levels being transmitted and given the fact that he was in a state of falling adrenaline, he looked to check his status to see if he could see it from there.

It was entirely blank. Not just the health points, but every seen stat there.

From random additional stats to none at all, Ren couldn't keep up with the whiplashed motion.

"You should be lucky you didn't take any fatal attacks. You would have dropped dead the moment I came here. In fact, if you hadn't been able to hold on for a few more seconds, you _would _have been dead. That alone should be satisfactory for your current capability."

Ren tried to speak, but he realized that all he could do was croak.

Anything that needed more effort caused him to spill out more blood onto the ground.

His vision started to become blurry as standing up suddenly became a difficult and daunting task to complete. He didn't take any damage from the moment he was being hung to now, so he didn't know why he was feeling such intensity.

Zellus looked at Ren out of the corner of his eye and reached into his pocket. He took out a small capsule container and threw it in front of Ren, bouncing to a halt near his blood puddle.

"This is a painkiller. Take it and get out of here," he instructed. "The longer you stay, the more it's going to hurt, but if you manage to escape, it's going to be a lot easier on your body."

Ren could see the shape hazily and once he locked onto it, he slowly reached out to take it. He figured it was much easier to use the inventory to take the pill, but Ren was surprised to see that his inventory wasn't working anymore, even though it should have been able to take medicine inside.

Zellus clicked his tongue, taking a shot over to broken shelves and jumping down to hold Ren's hand.

"Silly Sword Hero. You use your mouth to take medicine. Didn't think I needed to explain that."

With the knight's help, Ren was able to swallow it down, though he could taste the metallic flavour that dressed the pill.

"Take some for the road. Don't drop any."

As he was being held up, Zellus dumped a few more of the pills into his pocket.

After a few moments, the wounds started to feel better, but they certainly weren't going away. He desperately needed medical attention if he was ever going to survive this.

"Now, you should head for the exit."

He pulled Ren up as the injuries became less prevalent on his mind. However, he didn't expect Zellus to sweep him off his feet and carry him like a dainty princess. He was to curse at Zellus before the knight jumped over the railing and landed on the first floor.

"I'll catch up soon, so take the way you came from." Zellus dropped Ren on his ass, despite the wounds he sustained. The painkillers were definitely working, but it was still annoying as he slowly got back up on his feet. "You should try and find medical attention, but nothing public. That'll probably be the first place they'll look for you."

Ren managed to find his voice without coughing up a fit.

"W-What about you?"

Zellus rolled his wrist and looked to where the masked man was buried.

"He's a bit more durable than you might expect. I'll hold him back as you make your escape."

"Then where the hell should I go!?"

"You can duck into a blacksmithing store that you can knock on through the alleyways. The owner there owes me a favour or two, so when you show up, tell him that I'm pulling in my favours now. Hopefully, you've visited Erhart over the last week."

"Erhart…!?"

That had been the name of the blacksmith that was acquainted with Naofumi. That itself was already perfect since he knew exactly where that store was.

"Hey!" a shout came from the main entrance of the library. Both Ren and Zellus dragged their attention over, seeing that there were a bunch of holy knights. "What's going on here!?"

"Guards!?"

"Ah, so they actually followed me. I guess that's fine."

Zellus glanced above, noticing that his bent dagger was still flying around.

He thought it would take a bit longer.

"There's only one way to escape, Ren! I'll give you an opening, so just run straight through!"

The airborne dagger spun around and flew towards the entrance. Before it connected with the holy knights squadron, it sparked a red sheen before exploding into flames. They all jumped out of the way, before they could catch on fire, but the shelves and books nearby caught it instead.

A strong magical presence came from Zellus immediately and without even saying another word of chanting, he fired off his spell at the same moment.

"[Zweite Wind Shot]!"

A wind sphere convenged from Zellus' hand and blasted through the flames, giving Ren a clear opening to escape through. It even kept the flames on the side, so that the guards wouldn't be able to intervene without being burned.

"Go!"

Ren bit down on his teeth and quickly glared at where the masked man was.

"... _You better save me a piece of him._"

"I hear you loud and clear. There's nothing I love seeing more than a heated rivalry. Now get out of here and live to fight another day!"

Ren ran forwards into the smoke and dashed past the group, leaving Zellus by himself with the enemies. Some of the guards had processed what happened and got back up.

"Alert the rest of the Holy Knights and request aide from the Melromarc Knights! We won't let these criminals get away with destroying the precious library!"

Some of them ran after Ren while the others stayed, intending to fight and contain one of said Melromarc Knights. He wondered if they realized that he was one of the well-known high knights, but these guards were often secluded in their own organizations to know the outside. Either way, Zellus sighed, knowing that a few more heads will have to be chopped off.

'_The Melromarcian Knights? Well, shit. This turned into a sticky situation. Hope Ren's fast enough to outrun them._'

Zellus drew his giant broadsword in one hand and a dagger in the other and prepared for battle.

That was until the pile of broken shelves rumbled and out came the masked man except his mask was broken, shattered to rubble. Zellus smirked, happily knowing that he'll have to deal with all of them at a single time, but this was far from ideal. It wasn't as if he was against the idea, but these types of fights took time and he didn't exactly have that luxury. However—

"W-Who's that!?"

"Hmmph. Don't get in my way."

Hearing the voice emerge, Zellus prepared for an engagement, but he was surprised to see what unfolded instead. The masked man leapt towards the holy knights and killed them all in one fell swoop. Their bodies fell down without their heads, slumping over as Zellus made an amused laughter, seeing the man maskless for the first time.

He was surprisingly handsome.

"_Nice technique_. I'd judge it as an eight out of ten, but you know…" Zellus pinched his fingers against his chin, holding his dagger downwards. "Those guys were on your side. _Weren't they?_"

"I could say the same about you." The man glanced up at Bakta's body, still motionless in the wire. "I didn't exactly kill him yet. I merely wanted to bring upon the Sword Hero's hate, but with that ability of yours…."

"He died immediately the moment I used my _cheat_," Zellus continued. "Isn't that right?"

"So you knew, and yet you still used it," the man scoffed. "You have no right to lecture me on friendly-firing, especially when I could care less to what happens to those tools of the pope."

"_So you use the term 'friendly-firing'..._"

Zellus held a brief silence after his mutter. He was curious as to why the 'masked' man didn't bother to chase after Ren, but there was probably the chance that, despite the positioning that they had, he wouldn't be able to come close to catching the target, so he switched gears instead.

"Mind me asking what someone like you is doing working alongside a Cardinal Hero?"

"How about you mind your own business?"

"This _is_ my business."

"_Touché_."

Zellus pointed his dagger towards the man as his broadsword rested on his shoulder.

"Well, I don't have anything particularly interesting to tell you, but you said you wanted to kill me before, right?"

"I couldn't have asked for a better opportunity." The man brought out his own dagger and narrowed his eyes. "Compared to the others, you appear to actually be able to understand your situation before it all comes crashing down on you. There's no need for you to be at death's door to cry out your sorrows."

"Then you better show me what you got."

The atmosphere changed almost instantly as the amber-eyed man found it difficult to breath. The ground beneath Zellus shattered, not out of anything from this world, but through his own willpower and strength.

His voice changed tones, almost like a controlled psychopath was trying to break free.

"_I gave you an opportunity to run away and get stronger. If you're showing your face before me like this, you better not disappoint me. Dance as much as you want. As long as you entertain me, __**weakling**__._"

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 027 : Stargazing**

[Itsuki] : "So her name is Metatron, huh? I wonder if I'm ever going to see her again."

[?] : "Sir Itsuki?"

[Itsuki] : "H-Huh!? O-Oh, it's just you, Kojeel."

[Kojeel] : "I expected to wake up to find you watching over us. I feared for the worse when I didn't see you, but you ended up simply being by the cliffside here."

[Itsuki] : "Sorry about that."

[Kojeel] : "As long as you're safe, but I would highly advise you to not do anything like that again. What were you doing here anyways?"

[Itsuki] : "I was… I was stargazing. It was a bit hard to see the stars from our campsite."

[Kojeel] : "Is that so? You should probably keep that hobby to when we're back in a village, not in the wild. Monsters can attack at any moment and considering how you're most effective at ranged distances, a hidden ambush by monsters can be fatal for you."

[Itsuki] : "Yeah, I guess you're right. Sorry, Kojeel."

[Kojeel] : "Let's return back to the campsite, Sir Itsuki. I woke up both Welst and Mald to help look for you."

[Itsuki] : "... And they're both… together right now?"

[Kojeel] : "In hindsight, that wasn't a good idea. My apologies, Sir Itsuki."

[Itsuki] : "Well, if they're not burning down the forest, it should be fine. I don't have enough trust in them to get along swimmingly, but I know they're stupid enough to destory the envirnoment out of pitiness."

[Kojeel] : "I'll lead the way then."

[Itsuki] : "..."

[Itsuki] : "I hoped Metatron wasn't lying and that really did do something to help Ren out. It really does look like I lost all my levels according to the Status Magic. I should come up with an excuse eventually, but I'll cross that bridge in the morning."

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**


	16. Chapter 1-15 : Wrong Fantasy

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

Naofumi didn't expect Raphtalia's nightmares to be such a handful, though Beloukas did warn him beforehand. That slave trader hadn't been kidding when he said it may cause problems for him. During the night, Raphtalia had started screaming and crying. Surely, it hadn't been just a normal nightmare, but Naofumi thought it was something akin to reliving her cruel past.

He didn't know anything about it, but if she had been in such a panicked state on a subconscious level, he couldn't bring himself to even ask about what happened. From what he heard in the unconscious horror, it sounded like the incident that happened had taken the lives of her family and friends. He couldn't even begin to imagine how terrible that must have been for her, added onto the fact she had an abusive master afterwards.

Though, Naofumi didn't see this aspect alone as the problem.

To combat her night terrors, Naofumi instinctively kicked in his caring self and held Raphtalia's small body in his arms, comforting her through her sleep. If she kept having these frights, then Naofumi didn't mind it if he had to keep doing that. Holding her head next to his shoulder as she cried through her nightmares, Naofumi kept comforting her until she quieted down.

The real problem came when Naofumi realized that her screaming ended up attracting nearby monsters. Naofumi ended up kissing his sleep goodbye, but seeing that Raphtalia had calmed down—he decided to suck it up and fight by himself, though it wasn't as if he had another choice.

Luckily, it ended up simply being balloon monsters and when all was said and done, he actually left a few of them alive for the morning. Some of the balloons actually… seemed content when they were biting down on Naofumi's body. It didn't hurt nor did it do much damage to his health bar.

He decided to simply let them bite him for the rest of the night as he checked around for any more monsters before he woke Raphtalia up for her turn on the night watch and went to sleep. In the end, he only got about two or three hours of sleep before the sun raised up from the horizon.

'_This is my life now, isn't it?_'

That was what Naofumi had been thinking as he walked back to the capital, holding Raphtalia's hand as they returned like a parent and their child. The day itself looked a bit dreary, as the grey clouds blocked the bright blue sky from emerging. He'd hoped that Erhart had umbrellas to sell, if this world had them.

'_Though, I suppose it isn't too bad. Honestly, it could be even worse. Wait, I just jinxed myself, didn't I? Whelp, I hope nothing bad happens today._'

* * *

**)**—**(\**IV**| Chapter 1-15 |**IV**/)|**—**(  
)\\( Wrong Fantasy )/(**

* * *

It's been two to three days since Raphtalia was bought and it looked as if she was getting used to fighting the balloons and the plant-type monsters. He still felt really bad about making her fight on his behalf, but it wasn't as if he broke his promise already.

Raphtalia hadn't dropped even a single health point from what he could see ever since they set out to farm experience. Naofumi kept jumping in everytime he expected her to receive a hit, but his high defenses avoided any serious damage.

He saw the castle gate in the distance, and once he came closer, he saw that there were a considerable amount of knights—much more than he remembered from the previous day. It seemed like everyone who wanted to get past them had to be checked, but they didn't seem to be worried about people entering the capital, only those who were exiting.

Naofumi wondered why, but he noticed that Raphtalia's hand had been trembling in the presence of the amassed number. It was as if she was afraid of the knights.

One day, he'll ask Raphtalia about it, but as things stood—it felt a bit insensitive asking her about her past when she's still showing signs of being uncomfortable about it.

For today's plans, he was planning to sell some of her new materials he salvaged to Erhart, who he knew would accept his business.

All of the other businesses had a fifty-fifty shot if they would even consider his patronage and there was still the possibility that they would scam him. He still didn't know the market value of these materials, but he knew he should get on that as soon as possible.

He came over to Erhart's blacksmithing after getting some food for them at the same restaurant as before and Naofumi was welcomed into the building with a chuckle.

"Oh, it's you, Shield Boy! Nice to see that you haven't bitten the dust yet!"

"Thanks for believing in me, Erhart," Naofumi smirked at the new nickname Erhart had given him. "Though, you have to give me more credit than that."

"I know. I was only joking with you." Erhart glanced over at the girl that had been holding Naofumi's hand. "And I see that the young miss looks a bit brighter today! Much better than how you looked before. You were all skin and bones, and now you're starting to get your colour back!"

Raphtalia nodded in a smile.

"It's a working improvement," Naofumi responded. "She's still a bit sick, but it should be all gone by next week. That is, if she takes her medicine properly."

"M-Master Naofumi…!"

"I can see that, Shield Boy! You've been trying to treat that young lady as if your life depended on it!"

"... It kinda does?"

"But even if you weren't the Shield Hero, I think you would have done the same regardless," Erhart smiled, but once his voice quieted down, he sighed to calm himself down before he got back to the point.

"Anyways, enough banter. What can I do for you this morning?"

"I'm looking to see if you would buy these materials off my hands."

Naofumi pulled out a stack of materials he had collected from balloons and plant monsters. He could have used them to upgrade his shields using the item enhancement method, but he felt like it was much better to have some more currency in his pocket before anything else. Having stronger shields was nice, but it wasn't as important as money, as terrible as that sounded.

Erhart took one of them from the pile and looked at it carefully.

"These are pretty good balloon materials. If the rest are like this, I can give you about one bronze piece for two skins. That's the market value of these things since they're so common around the capital. Though, since I know you probably need the money, I slack you a deal. Two silvers for your thirty-five balloon skins."

"What about the plant monster materials? Surely, they cost a bit more than the balloons. I didn't see many of them when I was out there."

"You would be right, but they aren't up by much. For all the materials you can collect off of them, you can grab two bronze pieces. You look like you have nine stacks of them, so I'll round it up and give you two silvers."

Erhart set aside all of the materials, making sure he hadn't miscounted anything.

"So in total, it's four silvers for the entire thing?"

It had definitely paled in comparison to the 750 silvers that he received in the beginning—and he still had a good amount of it left, but there was something satisfying about earning this amount compared to being given it at the start.

"Yeah, that really sounds like a good deal. Thanks, Erhart. I really appreciate the help."

"Happy I could help out."

As Erhart slid the materials into a crate and handed Naofumi the agreed amount, Naofumi sent the coins into his inventory as he watched Erhart carry the materials into the back room. However, his voice still echoed from there.

"Hey, Shield Boy. Any plans for the future? I know it's only been a few days since you've bought the young miss, but you'll need to start thinking about expanding yourself to new locations. As it stands right now, your reputation here is only going to hinder yourself. Rumors may spread easily in one city, but you should trust me when I say it's difficult for it to travel to other places."

"Going to another place, huh?"

Naofumi was surely ready for it, but he was only worried that Raphtalia wasn't adjusted to her new environment yet. He looked over to check her expression, but it looked like she didn't have a real opinion on it. Instead of guessing, he decided to be upfront.

"Raphtalia, do you think you can keep up? It might be better in the long run, but I don't want to be pushing you when you aren't ready yet."

"I can try, Master Naofumi. I'll follow in your steps."

"That's the spirit, young miss," Erhart smiled as he walked back to the front counter. "You two really don't have that typical master-slave relationship that I'm used to seeing with most people. Very rarely do I see people treat their slaves as companions rather than items to express their frustrations and distaste for. It's unfortunate, but that's how the country works here. If it could be easily changed by people like me and you, it would have already happened a long time ago."

"Yeah, it really is too bad," Naofumi sighed.

He thought back to Itsuki's reaction at the slave trader.

"Well, you still got some money on your person, right?" Erhart asked. "If you're really considering trying to reach another town, then you should refresh your equipment, your weapons and your item stash. Of course, doing the first two with yours truly."

"As long as you can keep it cheap, Erhart," Naofumi wryly chuckled, but he went to really consider the offer. "I don't want to be spending all my money in one place. I'd say my budget that I can mess around with is… 100 silvers? Give or take?"

"That's more than enough. You see, I just finished up one of my armour pieces last night and it turned out that I accidentally forged it with the wrong materials," Erhart said, scratching the back of his head embarrassingly. "It's not the worst thing in the world, but I certainly can't sell it for the intended price. Normally, I would have listed it for 170 silver pieces, but due to the error, the most I could sell is 70."

"Wow, that's more than half the price," Naofumi widened his eyes. "How badly did you mess it up?"

"It's not that bad, certainly good enough to use out in the wild. That's why I thought to offer it to you first, if you ever came in today." Erhart glanced down at Raphtalia as he spoke. "Tell you what. I'll grab a new knife for the young miss and round it all up to 100 silvers. A real combat dagger might be much better. I think I made a decent one last night too."

Naofumi was starting to think that Erhart made these on purpose.

"How does that sound?"

"That knife does look a bit old…"

"Yeah, I know. Since I was the one who gave it to her for practically free."

That little comment made Naofumi amused.

"Yeah, alright. That sounds like a good deal, Erhart. Let's see this armour set."

Naofumi had looked at his own equipment as he spoke and despite him having it for the past week, he didn't think he would miss the generic leather appearance.

"Right on it. I'll grab the two things from the back. Just hang on tight until I bring them out."

As Erhart went to the back once again, Naofumi prepared his payment. The bag of silver coins appeared in his palm as he placed it on the counter for Erhart. He looked over to Raphtalia who hadn't seemed to be settled with not being in a cage yet. She kept looking around with curiosity, but Naofumi wasn't about to stop her.

It took a few moments for Erhart to come out as equipment that looked like he ripped it straight off from a bandit, which made Naofumi deeply concerned. He stared at it as did Raphtalia with a blank expression.

"... You want me to wear that?"

"It's a 'custom' [Rogue Chainmail]. Instead of chainmail, it's simply a different metal used. It's a bit cheaper than the usual material, but selling it to you at my given price will let me break even."

Naofumi noticed that it had a somewhat green distinct colour to it, almost matching the schema of what the king provided to him. It certainly wrapped itself in the chainmail advertisement in its name among the upper body, but there was a decent layer of metal that covered his lungs. The arms and sleeves, however, were quite thin in comparison, befitting of what he would consider as the 'rogue' aspect of it. Frankly speaking though, it sincerely made him look even more like a criminal.

"Please tell me this is a prank."

"Huh? What's wrong with it?" Erhart looked at the armour piece once again in confusion. Naofumi didn't think he was the only one who saw it.

"I mean… it's kinda… How should I say it?"

"I think it looks nice."

Raphtalia's words flanked him unexpectedly.

"I-Is that so, Raphtalia?"

Naofumi flinched, but it wasn't as if he was going to deny the helpful service from Erhart.

He was already going beyond what he should be doing as a business owner for him and if Erhart had more to give, Naofumi—though reluctant to accept—should at least consider his help. And with Raphtalia thinking it looks nice, it might have been the bigger crime to deny Erhart's product.

"N-Nothing. It's nothing, Erhart. I-I appreciate it a lot." Naofumi directed Erhart to the bag on the counter. "Money's over there. I'm guessing I should wear this now?"

"If you want to. It's yours now."

Handing over the armour to him, Naofumi decided to strip off his tunic along with his cape and started wearing his new equipment.

Though, he had to admit that changing outfits quickly became awkward.

He didn't know what to do with the balloons he had completely forgotten about.

In the meantime, Erhart had given Raphtalia the new dagger and crouched down to her level. "Use this with care, young miss. I threw in a [Blood Clean] layer to help make its duration last longer, so keep it a secret from—wait, why am I telling you this? Not to be offensive, but you probably don't know what the heck a [Blood Clean] layer is."

Raphtalia shook her head, leaving Erhart to shake his head towards himself.

"It's a good fit, Erhart."

Naofumi turned to face the two others in the room and padded his hand against the center portion. Draping it over his undershirt, the armour had rested almost perfectly on his body. Almost too perfectly.

"... Shield Boy. Could you explain those monsters on your body?" Erhart gazed blankly as if it was an incredible, though unbelievable, sight. Raphtalia, on the other hand, had started to shake at the sudden appearance of the monsters.

"A-Ah, wait."

Naofumi raised his hands as if he was surrendering and went to quickly grab his cape again, which concealed the balloon monsters.

"I-I _think _they're docile. They've been biting me since night time and they haven't done much to hurt me or my health bar. I don't know how I can tell, but I think in comparison to the other balloons that we fought, these guys seem to just… like it there. I might as well keep them with me, just in case."

"... In case for what?"

"... You know? I didn't get to think about it that far. They looked happy being there, so I felt bad about killing them."

He looked down at the balloons who kept their singular straight face, chomping away at Naofumi's hardened body.

"_Fine_." He made a sad sigh. "Raphtalia, I'll grab them one by one and you'll kill them for me with that new dagger of yours. Understand?"

Raphtalia nodded. "I understand, Master Naofumi."

"Alright."

Naofumi took his hand and placed it on the first balloon. He mentally counted down to yank it from his body. They eventually got through the majority of them, killing off all but a single balloon. As he held onto the last one, he started one more count.

_One, two, and… _

Instead of pulling off the balloon, a loud crash came from the backside of Erhart's store.

Everyone stiffened their backs as both Erhart and Naofumi went to check on what happened. It didn't sound natural, as if someone had broken through his backdoor that connected with the alleyways, but considering Erhart's reaction, Naofumi didn't think it was a docile visitor.

"Back room? Must be an intruder," Erhart concluded. "Though, to do it in the early morning—I'll give them their courage to break in, but the stupidity to do it too. Shield Boy, mind helping me out here?"

"Y-Yeah. Of course."

He readied his shield, just in case he needed to give Erhart some back-up as the blacksmith nodded in agreement. Erhart pulled up a sword from one of the display stands and they both silently made their way through the hall.

Naofumi led the way, Erhart stayed close and Raphtalia had simply followed because she didn't know what else to do.

Erhart beckoned Naofumi, noting that the next room had the back door. From what the mood was going for, it seemed like it was going to be an ordinary thief who managed to choose the wrong time to break into someone's business, but as Naofumi turned the corner—he surely wasn't expecting the sight.

"Who goes th—!?"

Naofumi's jaw dropped as his arms lost feeling in them.

His heart pounded on seeing the sight and his breathing became erratic. Erhart pretty much had the same reaction, releasing the sword from his hands and causing a loud steel clank against the wooden floor. If Naofumi could have dropped the shield, he would have done so already.

What was this emotion he had been feeling in his body?

Had it been fear?

Had it been anxiety?

As Naofumi tried to grasp the thoughts, he finally caught onto a single word that perfectly described what he was thinking as his eyes kept staring, wishing the scene hadn't been true.

"_... W-Wh… What?_"

A single word—two mere syllables.

Despair.

"._.. R-Ren?_"

Before Naofumi, Ren had been on the cold ground in front of him, with his clothes ripped and bled from every place on his body imaginable. Under him, he made a crimsoned pool of his own blood and stained the hardwood floor with his mark.

Naofumi had a million questions rushing through his head—

—but he didn't care about any of those damned answers.

His mind didn't even consider it—

—and his feet had already moved forward.

"_REN!_"

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

"I-It… It stings, Naofumi. I-I'm… I'm telling you that I'm fine… G-Grah!"

Ren's weakened voice was still driving as he sat in one of the back rooms in his undergarments while Naofumi performed first aid treatment on him. Naofumi was thankful that Erhart had a first aid kit on him, whereas the blacksmith had gone to see what he could do about the bloodstains on the floor.

There was no way that potions and ingestive medicine would solve a major problem like this. There were cuts everywhere, both minor and deep, and bruises where the cuts had missed. Even so, Ren was still keeping a strong face.

"L-Look, I just needed… a place to hide out… for now… Ah, crap...!" Ren winced at the surge of discomfort from the disinfectant. "I'll be gone out of your h-hair as soon as—"

"How!?" Naofumi roared. "How the hell could you even say that, Ren!?"

Naofumi's anger came out without any warning, causing even Ren to flinch slightly, moving his head away from his roommate's face. If anything, Ren regretted even speaking the moment that Naofumi strung together one of the bandages too tight. He was lucky it was his wrist and not his forehead or neck.

"You come in, all injured and practically looking like you've been to hell and back! Cuts everywhere! Bruises everywhere! I don't even know how you got to such a state in the first place, but frankly—I really don't care at this point! You are not planning on leaving once you get this first aid all finished up! Nor are you leaving out to fight monsters until your injuries heal up! Do I make myself clear!?"

"... I'm telling you, Naofumi," Ren muttered. "I-It's much better if you stay out of this. Just… let me go after this, deal with it and everyone will be on their—!"

"And let you go off without your wounds being healed!?"

Naofumi's sudden roar caught Ren by surprise, but it wasn't entirely unexpected.

"I don't even think you're listening to me! I can't do that, Ren! You're my friend—hell, I wouldn't let a complete stranger do what you're trying to pull off here! I can't let that happen to you, especially because you're my friend! Just because you usually like to go off on your lonesome, you think you can act that way when you're injured!? In front of my eyes!? No way in hell! Only when that place freezes over and when I'm not alive anymore that you can ever dream of walking this off!"

Ren kept his silence through Naofumi's sudden ranting and his face turned away from him.

Raphtalia, who couldn't stop staring at Ren, had been standing behind Naofumi, holding the first aid kit as Naofumi took out the items inside. She was frightened from her master's mood change, but when she calmed herself down and actually listened to what he was shouting about, it really showed her how much her master cared about this person.

'_Who was he?' _she wondered.

For Naofumi's end, it was starting to get frustrating concerning the amount of places that Naofumi had to wrap up, not because of the quantity and time he had to put in to help his friend, but on the sheer thought of how much blood Ren must have lost on his way over to Erhart's store.

If anything, Naofumi was feeling bad for Erhart since he was pretty much using the majority of his gauze.

He really did have to wonder what the hell happened.

Ren glanced back at Naofumi's sorrowful expression, as if he had been hurting in Ren's place.

He broke off the piece of the bandage and stuck it to make sure it wasn't coming off easily. However, Naofumi stared at the wounds longingly as if he could fix them simply by looking. He sighed and once he finished up with Ren's left arm, he went to tend his chest.

If there had been any more injuries, Ren would have been cosplaying a mummy.

"... Sorry, Ren. I… I didn't mean to explode on you like that. I'm sure you had it really rough if the first thing you did after entering Erhart's store was collapse on the ground. I was scared that you weren't even going to wake up."

Naofumi prepared the disinfectant again which made Ren brace himself.

He wondered if there was a potion that could help heal it all back up, restoring all the lost blood and cells, but that was an empty wish. He wasn't intending to think about it like a video game—he simply wanted his friend to be better already.

Seeing Ren in such a terrible state broke his heart, even if Ren had been trying to play it off.

"How does it feel to be on the other side?"

"... The other side?" Naofumi flinched at Ren's question.

"The one getting mad for once, and not because a certain someone forgot to do the dishes again."

Naofumi took the roll from Raphtalia's small hands and started wrapping it around Ren's chest. "It doesn't feel good. I don't really like raising my voice that loudly—and you know that, Ren—but it just came out when I saw you as being super self-centered. You were only thinking about yourself and not considering what I wanted you to do. I didn't want you to be acting like that, Ren."

"That's basically your naivety in a nutshell, Naofumi."

"Is that why you started yelling at me after the trial?"

Ren grunted, glancing away to avoid his eye contact.

"I simply hate people who are so out-of-sync with reality that they don't even fathom the situations that they can be caught in. The biggest contenders for that are people who are laid back and haven't gone through a single severe problem in their life, probably their biggest issue being what they should make for their next meal."

"R-Ren…"

"I know you meant well, but there's a limit to how stupid you can be when you go about it."

Ren grunted as Naofumi held onto his body to get a better position on the wrapping.

"S-Sorry. I… I didn't know that you felt that way, Ren."

"Why are you even apologizing?"

"It felt right. And really, I guess that apology is for the day you stormed off from Itsuki and I."

Naofumi managed to finish up the chest and moved onto Ren's stomach.

He was seriously starting to worry about all these different places that he got attacked at. He never would have thought this would happen, considering the display of skill Ren showed at the mock fight with that rookie knight.

"I was really thinking about my situation after you left and I truly was in a terrible spot. I always try to be upbeat to keep the faces around us cheerful, but when everyone is looking down on you regardless, it takes a toll on me. My optimism just started to crumble and I… had to resort to extremes."

Ren's eyes leered over to Raphtalia, whose back stiffened the moment they had eye contact. It was clear that despite his curiosity of Ren's identity, she was quite afraid of him. Though, he didn't know whether to chalk that emotion up because of his bitter mood or the fact he was covered in his own dried blood.

"Does that explain the girl?"

"Yeah." Naofumi beckoned her with a slight head movement and a soft smile. "Introduce yourself, Raphtalia. I promise he won't bite. That's just apparently the 'first-meeting' effect."

Ren scrunched his brows.

"... The hell is a 'first-meeting' effect?"

"It's something Itsuki told me," Naofumi answered. "Apparently, you have this thing where you frighten people's first impressions enough that they don't want to interact with you."

"... And Itsuki told you this? Why is he randomly coming up with passives for me?"

Naofumi chuckled at the tangent before he rolled back to the original intention. Raphtalia, despite his reassurance, had been hesitating. "C'mon, Raphtalia. He's nicer than you might think."

Nevertheless, Raphtalia finally found her bravery and took her steps forward to face Ren. She held onto her tunic and bowed before him.

"H-Hello. M-My name is… R-Raphtalia. I'm Master Naofumi's… slave."

"... Ren Amaki."

Ren, once done with his very brief introduction, watched as Raphtalia quickly bounced away, putting Naofumi between her and Ren.

"So a slave, huh? Those people can't disobey your commands, right?" Naofumi was surprised that Ren already knew about it. "You really are starting to see the situation lined up for you. And here I thought you were starting to be a lost cause, wandering endlessly with bright eyes. Forcing someone to fight for you really is a step-up, Naofumi."

Naofumi blinked in surprise as he finished up with Ren's stomach.

All that was left had been Ren's remaining arm.

"You aren't… disappointed? It's a slave, Ren. You know, those people that were being kept as mere items centuries ago in our world?"

Ren scoffed.

"What, did you want me to be mad at you? Look, let's be honest. I was half expecting this type of development for this country when I realized we were in a fantasy world of stats, skills and magic."

He scratched his head, pausing his train of thought.

"Just… maybe keep this a secret from Itsuki. He would believe that you'll take care of that girl properly like a proper guardian would, but he'd probably ask where you bought her. And try to clobber the slave trader the first moment he got and we can't have that backfiring on his face."

Naofumi's mouth had hung wide open at the 'hypothetical' situation. He supposed there weren't childhood friends for nothing.

"Y-Yeah…" Naofumi agreed, chuckling wryly under his breath. "I-I'll definitely make sure that I… won't tell—"

"—Son of a bitch, you already told him. Haven't you?"

"H-Hey! In my defense, the slave trader approached me when I was with Itsuki! Him finding out was unavoidable!"

However, Naofumi took a free finger and placed it on his lips. "Also, could you lay off with the swearing? Raphtalia is still a kid here and I don't want her to be hearing these relatively bad words."

Ren glanced at Raphtalia who tried her best to stay out of his line of sight while being close to Naofumi to help him out. He ended up sighing as they made eye contact.

"Fine. I'll try to be mindful."

"Oh, and I think we're finished up here."

Ren's body was brimming with the white bandages once it was finished. His body was still a bit sore and checking in his inventory, he only had a few painkillers from Zellus left. Each one lasted for about ten minutes when consumed and only four minutes when used from the inventory, but after he escaped the Church, he found himself not needing any more consumption.

Though, Ren was more curious as to what happened when he was trapped by the wires.

He randomly gained extra stats and levels, but when he left the domain of the Church, all of that went missing and he was returned to normal. He couldn't even bring up the wind affinity anymore, so the entire thing left him confused, but it wasn't really stopping him.

He stood up from the chair and took a good look at his equipment. It was still usable and the fabric still had some lasting durability on it, but the sight of his armour reminded him of something.

"By the way, I should probably give you something as a sign of thanks."

"You really don't have to do that, Ren. We're friends for a reason!"

"No, I _really _think I should give this to you."

Ren opened up his inventory and found the armour that was lying within and spawned it right between them. The metals clacked onto the wooden floor as Naofumi realized immediately what Ren took out.

"T-That's…!"

"It's the armour that was given to you from the castle. The durability is only decent, but the stats on it are still stronger than the average equipment. You can get Erhart to repair it."

Naofumi crouched down to inspect the armour for himself, validating that it was indeed his.

"How did you find it!?"

"... It was lying around in some alleyway. I just stumbled upon it."

Naofumi narrowed his eyes.

"I think you're lying. I want you to answer me truthfully, or else I'm taking this back."

"Why do you want to know about the details?"

"Because I can't stand being the reason that my friends got hurt without knowing it."

Ren held his silence, but suddenly made an amused chuckle under his breath.

"Fine, I raided the Church of Three Heroes with Zellus and Ba…" Ren's words trailed off before he picked himself back. His heart pounded as the image of the dead body flashed in his head. "_A-Anyways_, we snuck into the place last night for a few reasons. One of them was to find information regarding your trial and I stumbled upon your armour inside of their dungeons."

"You _what!?_"

"Holes are starting to surface for your trial's so-called evidence, Naofumi. And it isn't because we've been idle and waiting for everything to blow over. Even Zellus has been working to find counter-evidence against your condemnation."

"And those wounds must be…!"

"Yeah. We got caught and as we speak, the Holy Knights from the Church are trying to hunt me down. They're persistence bast—" Ren caught himself as Raphtalia looked at him. "—guys. Pretty sure they're getting the Melromarcian Knights to help out. It took me the entire night to figure out a way to dodge them and take down the ones that were in my way until I reached Erhart's place."

"Wait, but Zellus himself is a Melromarcian Knight! Can't he do anything about it!?"

"That's what I'm hoping for, but we stirred up too much trouble for me to have faith in that option. All he could do was send me here."

"Then what are you thinking to get out of this?"

Ren thought for a moment, taking a deep breath. "Honestly, I'm not too sure, but I'm definitely not letting myself be captured. I'll have to skip out on the capital and hope Zellus can clean this up enough for me to act reasonably again. It's too dangerous for me to stay here."

He started to wear his damaged equipment and scratched armour as Naofumi stared at him in disbelief. He knew that Ren was a serious person, but never would have thought Ren would go this far.

Naofumi wanted to say something, but he was simply flabbergasted at the entire ordeal.

Thankfully, Erhart entered the scene before Naofumi could start stammering, opening the door with a small creak. He was groaning out of exasperation as the heroes had their attentions taken by the opening door, and likewise from Erhart to them.

"Oh, kid. You're up? Thought it might take you a little longer to get back on your two feet. You're a lot stronger than you look."

"So it would seem," Ren replied aloofly.

"Don't tell me you're trying to head out now." Erhart crossed his arms, leaning against the door's frame. "I don't understand what the hell you were up to last night, but apparently, it was enough to send the Holy Knights and the Melromarcian Knights to scramble around for a man matching your description. Black hair swordsman with dark clothing, distance expressions, and heavy wounds."

"... What the hell do they mean by 'distant expressions'?"

Naofumi made no comment on Ren's remark.

"Either way, it's dangerous for you to leave now."

"And it's just as dangerous for me to stay here." Ren pulled up his coat's sleeve and rolled his wrist. "I refuse to wait around until they eventually have my location determined and this place surrounded. The knights are scattered around the city right now, meaning that their forces are divided. If I have any chance of escaping, it's going to be now, not later."

"I think you're being a bit too hasty there, boy."

"What does it matter to you? I know what I'm doing."

"Well, I'm not the one that staggered inside of another's store, all injured and such."

"Just shut up."

"Ren!" Naofumi called out, standing up. "Erhart's the one managing this store and the one who had that first aid kit! I think you should show a bit more gratitude that he's expressing concern for you!"

Ren clicked his tongue, but it wasn't as if he could storm out whenever he wanted. Erhart was blocking the only exit out of the room and unless the blacksmith got what he wanted, it didn't seem like he was leaving per his plans anytime soon.

"Well, I don't know if that even is Erhart's intentions."

"You don't need to worry about that, kid." Erhart made a heavy sigh. "You said that Zellus sent you here? If that's the case, I can't do much about this even if I wanted to. I owe Zellus a few favours, helping me out on some special blacksmithing orders for the capital's knights."

Ren held his head. It was still throbbing through the painkillers, but he had completely forgotten the fact that the knight mentioned that Erhart had favours that he could redeem from. However, he clearly didn't mention anything about Zellus to him.

"You were eavesdropping on our conversation."

"I only caught the last few parts since I was walking in, but of course I'd have to be narrow-minded if I wasn't at all curious as to what happened. Especially if it brings a wounded Sword Hero to my door, but something tells me it's a long story. And you don't look like you have much time to explain. The people outside are going nuts over the amassed knights on daybreak."

"I'm surprised that you're not ratting me out instead."

"Do you really see me like such a person, kid?" Erhart felt a bit offended.

"You could probably do it for the money—_mmhmm_…"

"You don't! Not at all!" Naofumi came up and immediately covered Ren's mouth, answering for him with a gentle smile. "You don't seem like the type of person to do that, Erhart!"

"I think Mister Erhart is a nice person…" Raphtalia added in.

Ren broke away from Naofumi's grasp. "Look, I'm dropping out of here before the knights start making door-to-door searches of every building to flush me out. If you have an idea, I'd love to hear it. If not, get out of my way, Erhart."

"Wait." Ren leered backwards to Naofumi's call. "You don't have a plan, Ren?"

"I've been running away and fighting this entire night. My first objective was to get patched up at Erhart's, but I didn't think about getting this far. If I can, I want to sneak out through the gates, but they'll probably have security checks on everyone."

Naofumi remembered the guarded gates and could mentally confirm that.

"Though, there aren't any other places where I know I can exit the city. Unless I somehow get the ability to jump the huge wall in my way."

"Erhart, do you have any ideas?"

Naofumi thought that a blacksmith resident of the city might know the place better than those that were barely here for a month. Though, Naofumi thought back on his question that if a blacksmith knew about a secret exit, that the knights probably would have known as well.

However, Erhart surprised him.

"Well, the moat of the castle actually leads to a lake outside of the city. It's usually kept a secret since it's reserved for knights and the royal family to escape, but if you manage to jump down and swim the way down, you'll be able to—"

"**Absolutely not**."

Ren widened his eyes with bloodlusting intent, almost as if he was appalled and disgusted at the recommendation. Therefore, Ren surprised him even more.

"R-Ren?"

"_I-I mean_…" Ren shook his head, as if he was trying to hide away the previous reaction.. "T-That sounds like a ridiculous idea. We'll be heading _closer_ into the heart of the city, where knights are going to be much more plentiful due to the presence of the royal family. And you don't expect me to believe that such an exit route isn't going to be regularly guarded."

"Yeah, that's the problem…" Erhart mulled. "Though, that's the only thing I could really think of that didn't involve raiding the gates."

"But with that idea, I think the chances are better for Ren. Heading into the gates is a guaranteed fight, but with the moat idea, there's a chance he can leave undetected if the stars align."

"Naofumi."

"Yeah?"

"_Shut up. Shut up_. And most importantly, shut the _hell _up."

Naofumi blanklessly blinked.

"... H-Huh?"

"I-I'm the one escaping here, so I-I'll be the one to pick out my options." For some reason, Ren was stammering. He really didn't expect such a reaction out of Ren like this, but it sounded like he heavily opposed the idea as if it offended him on a personal level. "Look, I feel confident enough to take on the knights at the gates, so I'll be tackling that path. I'm not going to risk it on mere luck to escape, Naofumi."

"There has to be a better way to do this," Naofumi pleaded. "Your body isn't strong enough! You literally just got patched up!"

"I'll figure out a way. You don't need to worry so much over me."

"You can't be serious!"

"Have I ever joked around in such a situation before?"

Naofumi knew Ren wasn't bluffing, but he didn't want Ren to fight on his own. It was one injured swordsman against a whole group of armoured knights and as much as Naofumi would want to be optimistic about this, his fears were starting to shake him around.

"Then I'm coming with you!"

Naofumi didn't understand why the words came out like that, but it was true that he didn't regret saying it aloud. He stood firmly with his clenched fist as he looked at Ren with a determined expression. Ren himself was surprised at the leap of faith Naofumi had launched out, widening his eyes.

"... You… want to help me escape?"

"That's obvious! Criminal or not, you're still the same Ren that I know! I'm going to help you out!"

Ren needed a moment for his brain to catch up, but once he realized what Naofumi was saying, Batka's dead body had appeared before his eyes again. It was only for a single second, but for whatever reason, his consciousness decided to overlay Naofumi's image on top of the fallen knight.

"You're _not _helping me out, Naofumi."

"I won't take 'no' for an answer, Ren."

"You're not thinking about yourself again." Ren's nervous fist had tightened, trying to blabber whatever reasons he could produce. "Consider your own situation! You're already considered a criminal to Melromarc, despite what type of faulty evidence they might have! You don't need another crime to kick yourself into the grave!"

"I don't care! You're my friend! I'd feel terrible if anything happened to you!" Naofumi brought his armament forwards, tapping its surface. "Ren, have you forgotten? I'm not the Sword Hero, or the Bow Hero, or the Spear Hero. I'm not a fighter. I'm the _Shield Hero_, the one that serves to protect, and you're one of the people I want to protect!"

"But I… don't want to drag you into this…!"

"I was dragged into this when my friend was involved."

Ren noticed Raphtalia, standing about next to Naofumi. She held her master's hand and as if it was second-nature, Naofumi responded without a second thought. Ren sighed, trying to use any leverage he could get to have Naofumi back off, even if it tears the friend apart.

"What about Raphtalia?" Naofumi flinched at Ren's question. "Have you thought about her own being and if she wants to tag along on this dangerous mission? If this ends up failing, everyone who's involved will get captured. And if Raphtalia tags along, there's no way that she can keep up."

"I'll leave her with Erhart then."

"Except you won't be able to return as easily. My situation is more dire than yours and if we manage to break through, the knights are going to be on red alert for us during the rest of the time that we stay in this world. That means you and I won't be able to come back to the capital."

Naofumi stumbled his words, trying to find a rebuttal, but couldn't. Ren was right, and it felt selfish of him to drag Raphtalia onto this operation when she was clearly out of the league to do so. Hell, Naofumi himself felt intimidated by what Ren treats as normal.

However, Raphtalia tugged on his hand.

"Master Naofumi? Mister Ren… is your friend, right?"

"Yeah… He's a very close friend of mine," Naofumi answered, seeing the grimace form on Ren's face as the words were heard. "That's why I want to help him out…"

"It's okay… I-I ran away when my friends were in trouble, but I don't want the Shield Hero to do the same thing when his friends are in trouble. My friend always said that the Shield Hero would always want to protect those dear to him..."

"R-Raphtalia…" Naofumi was surprised at the maturity of her age, but with the green lights flashing, he nodded forwards. "Ren, I don't want to turn the other cheek here. I kinda understand how you and Itsuki felt when I pushed you two away from being involved with me. If it felt this terrible to simply walk away, then I was wrong to take your feelings lightly. Even so, I…"

"You're being quite the hypocrite, Naofumi."

"I'm a hypocrite that realizes his hypocrisy and wants to change that." He took a single firm step towards Ren. "I know you're a careful person, Ren. Something as big as this wouldn't happen if you stayed to your normal plans of being strong, but I don't care what you did in divergence. That part will never matter. What _does _matter is that I'll always be on _your _side."

"Damn it, Naofumi…"

Ren was completely against the idea, but perhaps, he had been the hypocritic in this situation as well. However, unlike Naofumi, he couldn't simply get over his hypocrisy as easily as his friend could. He completely despised feeling like this and he didn't want to take responsibility if anything happened to them, but Naofumi was being way too stubborn about this.

Either he wasn't going to hear the end of this the next time that they met, or Naofumi was going to follow him regardless of what he said.

Ren simply clicked his tongue.

"Fine. Do what you want to do, Naofumi. I can't be damned to stop you." Ren walked up to Naofumi and pressed his finger against his chest. "However, I want you to promise me something. If things don't go as planned, just abandon me behind. They're looking for me for this crime, not you. Don't dip your toes into the depths that you aren't prepared to enter."

"Ren, I—"

"_Promise. Me_." Ren pressed in harder than before, almost tipping Naofumi over. "It's _literally _my only condition here and if you can't give a damn about it, you'll have to suck it up and let me go by myself."

Naofumi grunted, seeing that Ren's expression held a mixture of seriousness and sorrow.

"R-Right… I'll do just that."

Ren sighed as he pulled up from his force as Naofumi made a determined smirk. Seeing that smile, Ren couldn't help himself to smirking in kind.

"But hopefully, it won't come to that."

"Is that right? Then you better not drag me down, Naofumi."

The two heroes kept their smiles and slammed their hands together in a firm handshake. Ren couldn't stop thinking about how insane this whole ordeal was coming up. It was basically an injured swordsman, a person that can exclusively shield attacks, and a child up against two organizations of knights. Thought, Ren had second thoughts about that.

Insanity was probably too light of a word.

Off to the side, Raphtalia and Erhart watched as the two heroes reconciled and as if their contentment was contagious, they started smiling as well.

All Erhart could really do for the two heroes now was offer prayers for their success, something he rarely ever did in his life and it was for people that he hadn't met for a full two weeks yet. He couldn't believe what he was experiencing, but he didn't want the two heroes to be wronged by this world.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 028 : Ren and Children**

[Ren] : "..."

[Raphtalia] : "..."

[Ren] : "..."

[Raphtalia] : "..."

[Naofumi] : "You two are awfully silent. I know we're waiting a bit for Erhart to make quick repairs onto my armour before we start the operation to break Ren out, but you two don't have to stay quiet."

[Ren] : "_Naofumi, I need to speak with you in private._"

[Naofumi] : "_W-Why are we whispering?_"

[Ren] : "_How should I act around children?_"

[Naofumi] : "_Is that all you're worried about?_"

[Ren] : "_I didn't ask to be judged! I asked to get an answer!_"

[Naofumi] : "_Well, I don't think it's all that hard. Just, I guess, being yourself is fine._"

[Ren] : "_I'm not taking Raphtalia out on a date, you idiot! She's like, six years younger than me. I'm pretty sure that's illegal!_"

[Raphtalia] : "Mister Ren? What are you two talking about? You… don't appear to be happy."

[Naofumi] : "Ren just didn't know how to talk to you, Raphtalia. Isn't that really funny?"

[Raphtalia] : "Heh, I guess that is funny!"

[Naofumi] : "That reminds me of a story about Ren when we went out to go eat at a restaurant one day!"

[Ren] : "Out to a restaurant…? What would that…?"

[Ren] : "N-No...!"

[Ren] : "Naofumi, you wouldn't!"

[Raphtalia] : "I want to hear it like all the other stories you told me about your friends!"

[Ren] : "Wait, what have you told her so far!?"

[Naofumi] : "Maybe some other day, Raphtalia. I think Ren wouldn't like it if I retold it in front of him."

[Raphtalia] : "Yeah, I'll remember that for sure!"

[Ren] : "Am I some comedy routine material for you two!? This is why I hate dealing with kids!"

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 029 : The Feat of the Sword Hero**

[Raphtalia] : "Are you really the Sword Hero, Mister Ren?"

[Ren] : "Well, if it isn't obvious yet, yeah. Though, I'm pretty sure your question wasn't based on a deduction and more of a reaffirmation from what Naofumi told you."

[Raphtalia] : "Are you as strong as the legends say about the Sword Hero? My friend used to talk about the Cardinal Heroes a lot and the strength of the Sword Hero sometimes came up. I was just wondering if you were anything like those stories."

[Ren] : "Well, I'd like to consider myself powerful. I was one of the top players of _Brave Star_… Right, you wouldn't know what that is or what a video game would be."

[Raphtalia] : "A video game?"

[Ren] : "Anyways, it's much simpler to explain that I was one of the strongest swordsmen back in my world, given a few circumstances. Though, the quest for grinding will always keep going, so I wasn't as strong as I could be."

[Raphtalia] : "Could you lift mountains!?"

[Ren] : "... Hold on. _What_?"

[Raphtalia] : "How about defeating dragons in one attack?"

[Ren] : "W-Well, there _were dragons_ back in _Brave Star Online_, but they were all bosses… No one could have one-shotted—"

[Raphtalia] : "And there was that legend that the Sword Hero was able to to take on the assault of an entire army."

[Ren] : "T-That sounds more like something the Shield Hero would do!"

[Raphtalia] : "And another one where he was able to hold his breath underwater for an entire week!"

[Ren] : "I DEFINITELY KNOW HOW TO DO THAT! HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE ME OF NOT KNOWING!?"

[Raphtalia] : "H-Huh!?"

[Ren] : "I-I mean…!"

[Naofumi] : "W-What happened here!? Why are you shouting!? W-Why is Raphtalia in tears!?"

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 030 : Umbrellas and Parasols**

[Naofumi] : "Oh, I almost forgot. Hey, Erhart?"

[Erhart] : "Anything you need, Shield Boy?"

[Naofumi] : "I was wondering if you sell any umbrellas."

[Ren] : "You know, that seems kinda basic, but I don't think I've seen an umbrella yet in this world. I mean, there's parasols that are used for the outdoor restaurants, but no sights of the typical umbrella yet."

[Raphtalia] : "What's an umbrella?"

[Ren] : "I figured that umbrellas aren't used in this world."

[Naofumi] : "Umbrellas are like movable covers that you can use to protect yourself from the rain. They say that if you spend too long under the drizzling water, you'll get sick, so the people back in our world make a contraption called the umbrella to help protect people from the rain. It really helps to keep you dry and it doubles as something to help you protect yourself from the sun's light if you need a shadow."

[Erhart] : "Oh, so… A parasol."

[Ren] : "Not really… That's just a parasol. They're meant to be used as merely shadows against the sun, thus having one of the root words being the latin meaning of 'sun'. Either that, so parasols serve as a way to assert nobility dominance by looking special."

[Erhart] : "... So a parasol with an anti-water spell attached to it."

[Ren] : "_Of course it would work like that in this world._"

[Erhart] : "Though, they're expensive to make, so those anti-water parasols are really exclusively kept for nobles. Either way, I really don't have anything similar to them here. This _is_ a blacksmith and equipment store after all."

[Naofumi] : "Well, is there anything I can use for cover? I don't want Raphtalia to get sick even more while she's still recovering."

[Erhart] : "I have a spare tent that could do the job. It's not really meant to be sold, but I don't have much of a use for it anymore aside from sentimental value. It was quite the help in my old adventuring days, but it's starting to really get old."

[Naofumi] : "No, that's fine. Thanks for the offer."

[Ren] : "... Wait, can't you just take the material used for the tent and stick it into the parasol?"

[Erhart] : "That's a ridiculous idea. Only a crazy person would try that."

[Ren] : "... _Of course it would work like that in this world._"

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**


	17. Chapter 1-16 : Breaking Through

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

Naofumi kept Raphtalia close to him as they traversed the alleyways with Ren.

Before the group left Erhart's out from the back, the blacksmith had offered to make quick repairs on both of their equipment. There wasn't a way to fully restore the armour to their former glory, but for an hour of waiting, it was good enough for them to wear confidentially. Erhart was pretty good at what he does, maximizing the repairs within a reasonable timeframe.

However, the holes and tears in things like Ren's coat couldn't be done at the same time and between Ren and Naofumi, no one knew how to sew.

It wasn't as if the tattered outfit was bothering him, but he would have been lying to say that he didn't cringed at his new appearance. It wasn't as clean as he would have wanted it to be, making him really look like some type of outlaw or a dark knight.

Naofumi, on the other hand, was ecstatic to have his old armour back, but it was an emotion that was too happy for someone that had only had this set of equipment for about a day. Ren could only wonder why, but he was awfully surprised that there was a balloon monster that was hanging out on Naofumi's stomach. The area was now laid with armour, but Naofumi said that it didn't really hurt him, much to what it looked like.

They were about to kill it, but Ren suggested not to, much to their surprise. He even suggested that he should get more balloons under his cloak, to give some type of method to lay some offense of his own.

Naofumi was dazzled by the ingenious idea.

Anyways, they didn't exactly know where they had been going, but they knew about the general direction. They were simply heading into the closest gate among the four exits, but it wasn't as if they were ready to jump the gun. They needed to observe the situation from afar and consider how close they could get without signalling any red flags.

Luckily, Naofumi wasn't the one being hunted down.

If they noticed a man of Ren's description, walking about, it's definitely going to make them targets, but Naofumi could easily scout out a good path for them and consider their options of approach. The areas next to the gates had been reasonably populated to the point where Naofumi could act like that without seeming suspicious.

The three of them reached the end of the alleyway, which dropped them off along the main streets, placed some distance away from the actual goal. Though, it could be seen from their perspective.

Naofumi peeked outwards from around the corner, followed by Ren who surveyed the scene below him, and Raphtalia who popped out from under Ren, merely following the two heroes and not very sure as to what exactly they were looking for. Her ears twitched a little as she did.

"It might be our lucky day."

"Does it really look like that, Ren? I don't think I see what you see."

The gate was starting to be packed with adventurers and merchants who were looking to be unsatisfied with the turn of events. Even though some people were going through, it was at an abysmal rate, especially when a merchant had to get through. For it it seemed, the adventurers simply needed to give their guild cards and allow the knights to compare the faces.

However, anyone with any type of cargo was deeply inspected and interrogated, including requiring any types of supporting documents of their business and reason for leaving. Anyone else like a random civilian that wanted to leave would be rejected their exit for the time being, until the culprit had been caught.

The adventurers were looking a bit sour about the whole ordeal, but they were much better off than the merchants and businessmen who looked like they really wanted to rush out of the gates like the horses at a raceway. They were even lined up, with their carriages and wagons propped up one after the other.

"Well, we can try and hide ourselves behind one of the carriages," Ren suggested. "Once we get close enough, we'll break off and book it. You watch our backs while I rush them down. Though, that's assuming the people around us aren't going to snitch on us."

"If it's been reported that the knights are looking for people with your description, I do think that the responsible citizen would act on your appearance."

"I remember Mister Erhart saying that they're looking for a swordsman with dark clothing. Maybe, Mister Ren should wear something else?"

"That would have been a decent idea back at Erhart's store, Raphtalia," Ren grunted. "However, I don't think I saw anything of my preference back at his wares and even if there was, it wasn't as strong as my current equipment. If it does end up into a brawl, I'm pretty much fuc—"

Ren could feel the silent daggers coming from Naofumi, while Raphtalia glanced upwards innocently.

"I'd be in a bad position to be. I'm not saying we can't claw our way out, but I think we need to keep contact to a minimum"

Naofumi nodded. "Yeah. I'll have to go from here and check out the situation up close."

"Looks like that's what we'll have to do. We can't get anything of use, hanging around the shadows."

The heroes pulled their heads into the alley as Ren held Raphtalia's forehead back to come with them.

"Are you sure you want to stick to this plan?" Naofumi tilted his head, anxious for his friend. "If you're captured, I don't think they'll be able to do much to you if they couldn't do anything of worth to me. Worse case, they'll let you go on the same conditions. It doesn't seem like you should be digging a deeper hole here."

"I simply can't trust what they're going to do, but the Church will at least have me in a position that they want me to be in. They were expecting Zellus and I. Given the fact that they have political influence and I know things about the trial that they would rather keep quiet about, something tells me it's not going to be as simple as me walking away."

"You mentioned it was the extremists that were behind it all, right? Immediately after the trial."

"I did, but there's a bigger picture here. If your armour was found within the dungeons of the Church, I can only assume that the main organization had something to do with your trial. Added to the fact that Zellus had his own smoking gun to use as well."

Naofumi realized something odd.

"Wait, Erhart said that they're looking for one person, right?" Ren widened his eyes, realizing what Naofumi was trying to imply. "Why aren't they looking for Zellus?"

"Hmm. Yeah, that's weird," Ren mumbled, prodding his chin. "He said he'll catch up when I left, but he hasn't shown up yet. It's possible that Zellus was captured, but given his nature, I'd say that the Holy Knights were no match for him. At least, the goons weren't."

"Do the Holy Knights have their own powerful captains?"

"I'm not too sure, but it would sense."

Ren pondered for a bit, knowing it was a mere conjecture at the moment. If the Holy Knights really did have their own captains, that was simply one more thing that they needed to worry about on top of the present threat. They were already very cautious about encountering the captain of the Melromarc Knights and they really didn't need another serving on the plate.

"No, we shouldn't worry about Zellus. He'll be fine. We have to focus on my escape." He pulled the slave girl to the side and nudged Naofumi slightly. "I'll look after Raphtalia while you go. Come back as soon as you find a way to get close without any type of alerts."

"Good luck, Master Naofumi!"

Keeping his head down, yet casual, Naofumi kept his shield close to him and under his cape to not draw any attention to himself as he walked out of the alleyway. He tried to act natural, only glancing about every second or so; that was to say, he did not look natural, but no one really paid much attention to him.

His mind tranced over the outline of what he should be looking for, dictated by Ren.

The first had been the number of knights that were stationed around the gate. Other than the ones that had been managing the departures of the adventurers and merchants, Naofumi could see a few more knights that were out of their original perspective. He counted at least seven knights on duty, but he noticed that there were additional knights up on the walls, having their aerial vantage point.

However, now that he got a closer look at some of the wagons, it was entirely possible to stumble onto the backside, which was hidden away from all sides except for the back. It could buy them the distance they needed, but the time it took to get there would have been relatively drastic. It was certainly enough time to say that an onlooker to the rear would see them.

The only thing Naofumi could possibly imagine was the tactic of blending in like one of the adventurers. They obviously had clothing to match the small group and the line-up was going slightly quickly, but it was one of those tactics of 'hiding in plain sight'. Something told Naofumi that the knights were more perceptive of such a thing.

There was actually a person with dark clothing and a somewhat similar appearance to Ren in the line-up, so Naofumi kept an eye on that specific adventurer. Of course, the person was being glared at by various people, but they kept moving along since the man was acting as if he had nothing to hide.

'_Yeah, I think that's the approach we need. We'll walk up slowly, blend in, and rush through the gates when we get the chance. Just act natural._'

Though, it might be a problem if people knew he was the Sword Hero. The gems in their holy weapons weren't a common feature in most weapons after all, but Naofumi remembered that he took some of Erhart's bandages while they waited, with his permission, for the road.

Maybe they could wrap the sword's hilt and hide the gem?

Naofumi held his chest, feeling it was tightening up from the incoming tension. He really needed to mentally prepare himself before actually executing the plan and he could his heart racing. All throughout his life, he'd never needed to do anything this intense, especially with stakes on the line.

Though, he trusted Ren enough to be able to have foresight into these types of situations.

All that was left was to communicate the tactic to Ren, see if it's good and they should be all prepared.

However, as Naofumi turned around and started walking, he accidentally bumped into someone. His nose knocked against a hard surface, probably armour, but it didn't exactly hurt him despite how quickly he made the retreat.

"O-Oh, uh… Sorry about that," Naofumi stammered, trying not to pull much attention to himself. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

"Shield Hero?"

That whole facade fell down when he heard the response. To be more specific, it wasn't the words that made him fall apart, but the voice behind it that made him jump from his socks.

"L-Lothringen!?"

'_Oh no._'

Everything about the plan shattered into pieces, or had the potential to. He heard that the captains of the Melromarcian Knights were strong and if that was the case, there was no way that they could break through the ranks if Lothringen was present. That's why he and Ren wanted to avoid any contact. If hearsay was to be taken as their only source of information, force hadn't been an option against someone like the captain.

The only feasible thing Naofumi could think of right now was to get them over to another gate.

That still meant that he needed to escape from this conversation.

"L-Lothringen! Y-You're looking fine!"

He instantly regretted his words out of embarrassment.

There were a few knights that were accompanying the captain and they thought Naofumi was trying to do something. One of them even held their hand onto their weapon before Lothringen held his arm in front of the knight, stopping him from advancing an unnecessary engagement.

"Indeed. You appear healthy yourself. It's been a week since your trial, Shield Hero," the resolute captain replied, almost as if he was happy to see him. It was hard to tell since Lothringen didn't smile. "I sincerely hope you haven't been getting yourself into much trouble over that timespan, but considering how I haven't heard anything about you since then, I do believe that would be the case."

"I've been trying to hang on in this world…" Naofumi wryly chuckled. "It's been difficult, to say the least."

"I would imagine that it's your infamy that is the main problem here. As said during the trial, any attempts at sexual assault are frowned upon from our laws. That notion is quite shared among the citizens as well, so it was not unexpected that you will find hardship."

"I-I know… It's been hard on the morale since I still know that I'm innocent, but I don't have much ability to say anything about—"

One of the knights, the same one with aggression, stepped forwards.

"Insolent criminal! Are you still going about, saying you're innocent!? Captain Lothringen, he cannot be trusted! He could be planning something malicious as we speak!"

"Calm down," Lothringen said, pushing back the knight before he could approach Naofumi. "He may or may not be guilty of his crimes, but the king made his decision and has allowed him to walk free on conditions. Since it is said from him, we must respect that decision and uphold it. Aggravating the Shield Hero will not help anyone, but instead, we should try and allow him to be a better person."

Lothringen then turned back to him. The maturity of the captain really blew Naofumi away, but he supposed that the one that was in charge of the knights should have such a state of mind to take decisions properly. It was one thing to envision it, but it was another to see it for himself.

"My apologies for my subordinate. Please do not take offense to what he has said." Lothringen bowed his head slightly downwards.

"U-Uh, thanks…?"

"In reality, we are all anxiously awaiting for you to redeem your former actions during the upcoming waves of destruction. Please remember that our wise king will be more than happy to accept your change."

"Y-Yeah…" Naofumi nervously scratched his head. "I'll try my best."

Naofumi really needed to get out of here quickly.

"I-I need to leave, Lothringen. I-I've got… business to attend to."

"Very well, Shield Hero," Lothringen nodded. Naofumi wondered if Lothringen figured out he was lying or not, but he continued naturally. "As long as you don't come into your own crafted troubles, I would be more than happy to let you—"

"Are you kidding me!?" The same knight who had a bias against Naofumi shouted out again, pointing at him. He couldn't help to gulp in the clear gesture. "Captain Lothringen, he's obviously lying! He's up to something, I know it! The Shield Demon must be doing something with the Sword Hero! We have to take him in for custody and make sure he doesn't—!"

"_That's enough._"

The stern response of his captain sent a silence from the knight, as the underling straightened himself back up. Even the ones that hadn't said a single word yet seemed to have been affected by the commend, holding in their breath as they silently glared to their comrades-in-arms.

"The Shield _Hero_, until he goes and commits another crime, is to walk freely. Antagonizing him will not do anything to assist that notion. I do not want to hear anything about the Shield Hero and his crimes out of you anymore, unless you want to experience punishment under Zellus' command."

The knight's face had whitened and whimpered.

"N-No, Captain! I'll stay quiet, Captain!"

Lothringen made a sigh, as the knight shrunk down.

"However, that does bring up the topic, Shield Hero. I'd like to speak to you about an incident that occurred last night, if you have the time."

"I-Incident?" Naofumi tried his hardest not to let Lothringen know that he already knew about it. He darted his head back to the line. "D-Do you mean… uhm… Does it have to do anything with the hold-up here?"

"It does indeed." Lothringen cleared his throat, wanting to convey the message as concisely as possible. "There was an incident last night regarding one person against the Church of Three Heroes, including a break-in and assault. Those who were conscious long enough to see the culprit mentioned a description that was rather similar to the Sword Hero and considering how it was reported that he was within the capital's confines now, we are simply searching for him for questioning."

"O-Only questioning?"

"Of course, as a potential suspect, we will have to make an arrest on him."

"O-Oh…" Naofumi's breath escaped his questionably dimmed hopes. He didn't even know why they were raised in the first place. "That makes sense."

However, Naofumi flinched when he realized something off about the statement.

"T-There was only one person who sieged the place?"

"That's correct. There were no other reports of others."

Somehow, Zellus must have figured out a way to fly under the radar, but Ren wasn't able to, despite being the first one to leave. Naofumi was definitely curious about the reasonings behind that, but perhaps, Ren's presence was detected and Zellus was not. That extravagant knight did seem like a person that was skilled with his movements.

"I would like to ask you, the Shield Hero, to assist us in this operation to find the Sword Hero. Of course, your efforts will not go unrewarded if you're able to contribute effectively. Ultimately, I cannot promise much, but I will give in good words about you to the king. Hopefully, that would suffice, but unfortunately, it is all I can offer for now."

Naofumi already knew his answer to that offer, but it was a matter of whether or not he could convey his response without looking like he's hiding the fact he's already working with Ren.

"S-Sorry, I'm… a bit busy at the moment. If I do somehow come across the Sword Hero, I'll make sure that I'll do something about it."

That was the best excuse Naofumi could come up with, but the loudspoken knight wasn't very content with that reasoning. Behind Lothringen, he was about to shout out of a fury, but his allies covered his mouth before he could even take a single breath. His face went red, but Naofumi could imagine the whispers going something like, "_Dude, it's not worth it, chill._"

Lothringen rubbed his chin with the hand, covered with a steel hand gauntlet.

"Truly, that's a shame. This was quite the opportunity for you, but if you have matters to attend to, I will not stop your intentions." Lothringen made a quick bow to Naofumi. "I'll be taking my leave now, Shield Hero. I wish you the best of luck on your journey. I still need to check on all of the gates if everything is in order."

"G-Good luck, Lothringen. I hope you find the Sword He—"

An explosion occurred behind them with smoke emerging from an alleyway.

Everyone's attention was pulled over to where the source was, as Naofumi stared in horror, realizing where that sudden attack was coming from. The citizens were scampering away as those who could fight prepared themselves, not to mention the knights that were present at the moment. Everyone was trying to see what was going on, especially Naofumi himself.

It was because that explosion came from where Ren and Raphtalia were.

* * *

**)**—**(\**IV**| Chapter 1-16 |**IV**/)|**—**(  
)\\( Breaking Through )/(**

* * *

Naofumi held his breath as Lothringen raised his eyebrow. The captain of the knights quickly acted as soon as the unnatural sound reached his ear.

"Knights! Investigate that magic spell!"

"Yes, Captain!"

The four knights that were by Lothringen's side drew their swords and ran forwards to the explosion site. All in the meanwhile, Naofumi couldn't even get his jaw to close up properly, trying to process what had happened.

Ren wouldn't have made such a large-potency spell like that, so that meant that it must have been sent by a third party. In other words, Ren and Raphtalia were discovered in the alleyways and an attack was launched at them.

"Shield Hero, if you wish to assist us, your help will be appreciated. Otherwise, either please leave the area immediately or help with evacuating the citizens."

"I-I…"

Naofumi didn't know what to do, motionlessly standing there in utter shock. Lothringen glanced at him and he saw it in his peripheral, understanding that staying silent would only make him look even more suspicious. However, Naofumi couldn't even move a muscle even if he tried.

Fortunately, but unfortunately, the knights' exclamations pulled Lothringen's attention away.

"T-That's…!"

From the alleyway's smoke, a figure broke through, sidestepping away from the buildings and landing roughly on his feet. With a sword in one hand, he tried to maneuver the best that he could, but it was rather difficult with a child about half of his size, under his arm.

Naofumi had a breath of relief, but he knew they weren't out of the woods yet.

The Sword Hero gritted his teeth as he backed up, trying to reposition Raphtalia in a much more comfortable posture for himself with the small window of space he was given. She looked like some type of doll, hanging about, but she was definitely uncomfortable. Though, if the attack was unexpected, Ren probably didn't have much time to react.

"That's the Sword Hero," Lothringen said, but once he noticed who the other combatants were, he frowned.. "And the _Church's Holy Knights_…?"

Following the perceived culprit out from the smoke cloud, two knights in a different uniform ran out with swords, hunting for his blood. Even without Lothringen's muttering, Naofumi could assume them to be the Holy Knights, contrasting the outfit with Lothringen's own knights under his current direct command.

"Raphtalia, hang on!"

"Y-Yes!"

Raphtalia's body scrunched up the best that she could muster as the first Holy Knight lunged their sword at Ren's chest. He swerved out of the way and retaliated. He had already tried attacking Holy Knights already and knew sword strikes weren't going to do much, so as the knight passed him, he kicked the man away.

The second Holy Knight launched a three-piece attack, forcing Ren to hang on tightly behind his blocking. He had to keep his feet moving since they weren't giving him any second to falter.

The first Holy Knight recovered quickly, much to Ren's annoyance, as he kept his body dodging when the knight joined back into the clash. Ren had to admit, keeping two somewhat experienced knights at bay while having a child under his arm is much more difficult than he expected.

It didn't help that their coordination was good enough to keep him on his toes.

Ren kept glancing at Raphtalia, checking how she was doing in between attacks, and he was worried he might have been moving too much. Her eyes were practically swirling, but that was to be granted. If she was a non-combat slave before meeting Naofumi, there was no way that her head could keep up with the spinning.

He only hoped that she wasn't about to puke.

However, their strikes slowly shifted away from Ren himself, but the slashes kept coming. Only then, he realized that they were locking onto Raphtalia after a narrow miss that sliced off a bit of her hair. She herself didn't even notice.

'_Those bastards! I need to get Raphtalia out of here quickly!_'

He wondered where Naofumi ran off to, but when he looked around quickly, he noticed Naofumi, frozen where he stood next to an unexpected face.

'_Lothringen!? What's he doing _here_!?_'

Ren concluded that Naofumi encountered Lothringen and he was forced into a conversation, thinking that the Shield Hero had either something to do with last night.

In any case, Naofumi was in a terrible place to be for him. He needed to pass on Raphtalia, but couldn't let anybody present be suspicious that they were teaming up, especially with an audience like this.

His distracted expression allowed the Holy Knights to hone into a weakness and strike. They both stepped forwards and launched a double vertical slash, one at him and one at Raphtalia. Ren managed to notice in time, but his reactions faltered.

Either he dodged and let Raphtalia take the hit, or move Raphtalia out and let himself take the hit.

Ren already acted before the decision could break through his consciousness.

"_Grhh!_"

He knew Raphtalia was an important factor to Naofumi's survival in this world and more importantly, Naofumi's first step into being a better person for himself. Ren wasn't going to let anything happen to the girl.

Nevertheless, the blade swiped against his shoulder, making a sharp pain as the wound forged itself into his arm. That simple attack alone cost him about a sixth of his health somehow, but he tightened his body and backed away. Opening the distance, he swapped to a backhand style and started channeling, switching to the unnamed sword he copied from Zellus.

"I, the Sword Hero, am the source of my power!"

The knights looked as if they were looking down on him, since as they heard Ren's words, they themselves started to chant as well.

"Hear my words and create a projectile out of the natural flow! [Faust Aqua Shot]!"

"We are the source of our power! Burn away all that we command! [Zweite Flame Wave]!"

Ren was tempted to let the magic go through since water had an innate advantage over fire, but the magical presence he felt as their spell was unleashed told him that his vanilla spell wouldn't be able to overpower their sweeping fire spell.

After all, he was taught that Zweite spells were a tier higher than Faust ones.

"[Mahou Tensei]!"

Water covered the front of his body, almost like a barrier, but Raphtalia was being unaffected by the technique. He watched the wide projectile approaching rapidly and moved Raphtalia by turning around, letting the fire hit his back while covering the slave. He quickly moved the water accordingly, but he was slightly too late, feeling the burn on his back for a brief second before he was able to cover it back up.

'_S-Shit!_'

Ren could hear the footsteps coming up, but he was in no position to block or dodge.

He winced, trying his best to move out of the way and hoping that he wouldn't get cut down, but a voice roared from down the streets.

"Knights, move in!"

Lothringen's shouts followed with two Melromarcian Knights jumping in between Ren and the Holy Knights. Much to Ren's surprise, they blocked the attacks in Ren's stead, even knocking the assailants both onto their asses.

Ren, in the meanwhile, staggered from his attempted evasion, but caught himself on his feet while keeping distance between the new knights upon the fray. He transitioned the water back into his blade and readied it for the chance that they turned on him.

However, the Holy Knights yelped up in confusion and annoyance.

"What are you doing!? You're protecting the criminal!"

"That may be so," Lothringen said, approaching the Holy Knights, "but I don't remember ever allowing a search-and-destroy command. You may be knights and victims of the incident last night, but that does not permit you to attempt lethal strikes onto any suspects. You unsheath your blades to disarm, not to _kill_, and from what I saw, those attacks had the intent of murder. Do your teachings not tell you about self-control?"

"Don't act all high and mighty because you're the captain of the queen's knights! He's our problem and attacked our Church, so we'll deal with him accordingly!"

"The Sword Hero is an important figure next to the royal family. I will not allow any unnecessary attacks to be launched on him, regardless of the Church's opinions. If you have a problem with that, you may speak to the king personally, or the queen when she returns. In any case, I'll be taking over this matter from you two."

"Any Cardinal Hero who would attack their own Church is no real Cardinal Hero! He's a fake one!"

"Nevertheless, he is the one summoned by the king and his retainer. Real or fake, that does not matter to me. All that matters is that he fulfills his job and I fulfill mine."

"So that's your twisted stance, huh!? I pray that the true Cardinal Heroes will smite you down, you sick Captain!"

"I won't have a discussion on this anymore. This is going nowhere, but know that since this has become a public issue, _I_ am the one that has power over _your organization_." Lothringen's eyes had looked like they could kill. "Either assist the morale of the affected citizens or leave this situation to the Melromarcian Knights. Those are your only options."

With such a firm and dismissive statement, the Holy Knights clicked their tongues as they quickly got back on their feet. They muttered curses underneath their breath as they scampered down to the main streets, choosing to not even attend to the citizens they left in panic.

Lothringen scoffed at the acts of display that the two knights had shown as he turned over to the Sword Hero, who had been trying to straighten himself. Meanwhile, Naofumi finally found the energy in his legs and moved.

"R-Ren, your arm!"

"_I-It's fine._" Ren whispered under his grunting as Naofumi came up to him. He brought his mouth close to Naofumi's ear. "_More importantly, don't act like we're familiar. I don't think Lothringen doesn't absolutely knows you're working with me yet._"

"W-What…?"

'_Hold on to Raphtalia when _it _happens._'

With his cryptic message, Ren guided Raphtalia to the side onto her feet, but he wasn't letting her walk to Naofumi. He leered to the two, silently telling them to let him handle the entire confrontation since Lothringen looked to be using the more civil approach to an arrest. He wasn't sure Raphtalia understood though.

"Lothringen, was it?" Ren looked over to the captain. "I'd appreciate the help, but something tells me you weren't helping me out because I was in trouble."

"Your intuition would be correct." Lothringen then turned to face Ren. "Or is it your guilt that knows better?"

"Well, I'm not too sure what's going on right now," Ren grunted, obviously bluffing. Naofumi was impressed with how naturally Ren was speaking despite the lies. "I suddenly get attacked by the Holy Knights out of nowhere. And here I thought I was supposed to be the one that they worship."

"In any case, I wish to ask you a few questions about your whereabouts last night. Unfortunately, I must report to you that you are one of the suspects in this case. I can only ask for your cooperation."

"What? Are you going to arrest me like Naofumi over here?"

"As per procedure, we must bring you as a prisoner before we start questioning you. Since I've gathered that we have multiple suspects, we won't have the need for a trial until you're determined to be the most likely candidate, like the Shield Hero."

Ren scoffed.

"No thanks. I'm not planning to rot away in a prison cell, losing time in growing stronger."

"You will be compensated accordingly if you are to be found innocent."

"And I'm saying that time can't ever be bought back. The days that pass as I wait could have been the few levels that I could have gotten." Ren frowned, glaring at Lothringen. He made a fib, scratching for whatever he could say. "Those are levels that could be used to save more lives during the waves."

Lothringen sighed.

"I do not want to resort to bringing you in by force, Sword Hero."

"I'd like to see you _try_."

Ren immediately stabbed the sword into the ground and blasted the water's ongoing flow downwards. The ground cracked from the attack and flung the force behind the water outwards, flying into everyone around him. Naofumi instinctively figured this was what Ren was talking about and grabbed Raphtalia tightly, shielding her from the non-biased attack.

The knights, Lothringen included, flinched from the attack, covering their faces or turning themselves away to resist the damage, but it gave Ren an opening to slip underneath Lothringen. He started running for the exit as the knights on duty there realized what was happening.

Lothringen was the first to recover, but Ren had already made a fair distance away from them. His face held disappointment in the decision the Sword Hero took.

"Knights! Capture the Sword Hero at once!"

"Yes, Captain!"

The four knights ran after Ren as some knights from the gate, hearing Lothringen's commanding voice, ran forwards to pinch the Sword Hero right between them. There were a total of six knights that Ren was up against and he wasn't exactly sure if his strength at the moment could take them on.

With his blade endowed with water trailing behind him, he had to take a chance. That was the only option that Ren could see, regardless of volition.

With both hands holding onto the grip, he swung the blade in a horizontal arc before him. A water slash was sent flying forwards, hitting the knights. He expected it to not deal much, but they staggered enough for Ren to see that he could possibly make it through.

He did it once more, closing the gap, and once it hit them, they fell onto their backs from the impact. Considering how the knights must have been at a somewhat average level, Ren's confidence rose as he quickened his pace.

He dashed right past them, but the next set of knights from the gate followed the assault. One of them had a shield and held himself in the vanguard of the other, rushing Ren. Within the sheath of water, his sword lit up in a bright light as he lashed out an attack.

"[Sweeping Strike]!"

The blade collided with the shield from the left as the loud sound of steel arousing cleansed the air. Ren couldn't get his sword deeper than the surface, but the knight looked like he was slightly struggling to hold up against it. However, the sword in his other hand was still able to act, aiming for Ren's arm.

A light injury would have surfaced if Ren held still, but he leapt out to the side, trying to go around the shielding knight. His ally was attentive, matching Ren's movements and shoulder-bashing Ren from getting past.

Naofumi and Raphtalia silently gasped behind Lothringen. The action itself looked painful on the receiving end, but Ren kept his resilience. He found it probably more painful that he was forced to watch as his friend drew every last piece of energy from his teeth and nails.

Ren was knocked back a bit and while it wasn't enough to make him drop, it was enough to let the four knights catch up. One of them grabbed Ren's wrist, but Ren clenched his captured fist and uppercutted the gripping knight in the chin, making the man fall back in the process.

It really seemed like he was doing a lot more to these knights than the one instance from the Church. They were probably lower levelled, if what Batka said about them was right, but he couldn't stop to even debate that in his mind.

Almost immediately, Ren transitioned to another water slash to keep the other three at bay and from the corner of his eye, he saw one of the remaining knights going in to pin Ren down with the shield. He tightened his legs and leapt high, somersaulting over the knight and landing behind. He swung his foot in a roundhouse and kicked the knight into his allies.

The other remaining knight rushed Ren, bringing in his sword from the left. Ren was able to block it, splashing some of the water residues into the air. Keeping the attack in a deadlock was bad for him, as the knights behind him were finishing up their recovery, so without another moment to lose, Ren slammed his head against the knight's forehead, thanking whatever heavenly forces allowed him to realize the man didn't have a helmet.

With that knight backing off, Ren jumped into him and plowed him over from the chest.

He rolled back into his escape, keeping an eye behind himself and watching the distance from the large group remaining consistent, yet far enough that they couldn't reach him.

Naofumi held his breath. His heart was beating in anxiety for his friend.

At this rate, Ren looked like he had a good chance of breaking through the gate. There were only a few more knights in the way while all the adventurers that were previously there had booked the moment the initial explosion occurred, not to mention the merchants.

However, he started to hear the crackling of electricity coming from Lothringen.

Lothringen took a deep breath, controlling his heartbeat as he took his stance. The captain didn't want to let it fall down to this, but the Sword Hero wasn't giving him another option. He didn't like using brute strength to protect the laws and liked to manage through peacekeeping, but it was something necessary in order to back up his words.

His rule of thumb was to allow the knights under his command to do the heavy lifting for their own benefits, leaving himself to watch over and ensure that all is well. That was how knights gained their experience, after all. However, when the situation evolved into something that they couldn't handle properly, that was when Lothringen would step in.

"I, the Captain of the Melromarc Knights, am the source of my power! Come, o' radiant energy!"

Naofumi could feel the same magical presence that he felt from the throne room on the first day that they were summoned, but it felt like the magic was intensified by a heavier quantity. Unlike within the throne room, he could feel some of the sparks fly off Lothringen's body as it was convenging for the magic spell.

Lothringen raised both of his hands forwards as the fellow knights noticed what was happening and quickly stepped out of the way for their leader. As a result, it became a straight shot right towards the Sword Hero's back.

Ren could even hear the crackle from the far distance he travelled and there wasn't anyway to dodge out of the possible range. He gritted his teeth and slid, twisting himself into a reverse and readied himself to parry the spell, if it was even possible. It was much better than trying to escape a lightning that was locked onto his back, if the spell was anything like the one he used against Zellus.

He was thinking to dispel [Mahou Tensei], thinking that water would just conduct the electricity and fry him, but he realized that Lothringen probably didn't want to hurt him too badly. He decided to leave up the technique as a bluff.

"[Zweite Lightning Bolt]!"

The magic circle formulated before the captain, causing Ren to click his tongue in his failed bluff. He thought that he must have flipped a switch in Lothringen's head that told himself that it was fine to disable by any means necessary.

He tried to dispel the technique before the lightning spell struck him, but it was hard to match its speed.

However, Ren was still able to cancel it in time.

Though, it wasn't because he was faster.

The lightning bolt never fired, as Lothringen dove his fist through the magic circle.

"[Cancel, Magic Equip]!"

"_Zellus' technique!?_"

The electricity covered his gauntlets as he wound his arms up, rolling his shoulders for two cycles before slamming his fist into his other palm, igniting himself in lightning. His armour itself was starting to roll the energy around and despite the fact it was covering him, Lothringen wasn't bothered by the magical element.

Ren figured that Zellus wasn't probably the only user of that technique, but being up against the captain of the knights was a terrible time to have that realization sink within him. It was probably wrong of Ren to think about the technique as Zellus' very own, but a generalized and public one that Zellus merely introduced him to.

"I will give you one more chance to surrender yourself peacefully, Sword Hero!" Lothringen shouted across the streets. "Know that this is your final chance to come quietly!"

"I thought I was supposed to be someone important here!" Ren snapped back.

"The laws of our country and the words of the ones in command of the country override whatever desires that the Cardinal Heroes have! I serve as the captain of Melromarc's knights, aiming to protect these laws no matter what! Even if you are the Sword Hero, mind if I regret to add!"

Ren grunted and immediately turned his heel, dashing for the exit.

If he ran at his full speed, it wouldn't take more than twenty seconds to reach the outside of the city.

"And so, that's your answer. Very well!"

Like Ren's armour of water, Lothringen's body blew up, covering himself into a greater intensity. He crouched down and leaned into a runner's starting position, holding one hand forwards as he glared at the target.

"Prepare to meet the consequences of resistance."

Ren's body froze out of fear as he watched. It was as if he was looking right into the jaws of a beast, unleashed into the wild to rule over it and yet, Lothringen had always kept his stoic expression. He knew he needed to move out of the way, but the only type of movements he could muster up were the shakes of his sword.

"Unleash! [Acceleration Pierce]!"

[Acceleration Pierce] was a skill only usable in Lothringen's enhanced state, allowing him to dash a considerable distance in a single breath. It took up a fraction of the magic used to preserve the technique, but his vitality would remain the same. In other words, he would reach Ren in an instant and still be strong enough to take him down in a few seconds flat.

However, Lothringen wasn't prepared when Naofumi threw himself in front of the skill.

Lothringen collided with the shield, but the power behind the skill caused both of them to go flying in the same intended trajectory. Nevertheless, Lothringen forcibly stopped the skill prematurely out of his surprise, sending not himself anymore, but the Shield Hero to ram into Sword Hero.

Ren's reactions managed to catch Naofumi, but not before grinding to a halt and having him fall over.

He landed on his arm, scraping the skin, but he immediately pushed the friend off of him.

"Grah, damn it! Naofumi, what the hell!?"

Naofumi had blocked it head-on with his shield, but his arms were still feeling numb. It was as if the shield served as a decorative piece and didn't contribute much at all, considering his suddenly sore body. He rolled off in agony, while Ren managed to power through the flung friend and at least get on his knee.

It was hard to stand up, but it wasn't from any type of paralysis effect. His muscles themselves felt like they were torn to pieces from the impact and he didn't even want to know what Naofumi was feeling after being sent out like a bullet.

'_That idiot even left Raphtalia in the dust, standing about like a lost child._'

Ren gulped down his saliva, feeling a memorable metallic taste mixed in.

"Naofumi, why the hell did you do that?"

"M-My body just… acted. I didn't want you… to get hurt, Ren…"

Naofumi's breathing was acting to be under his own control, a tall sign that Lothringen probably wasn't even using the full extent of that power. He was weighing himself on all four of his limbs while Ren tried to stand back up again.

"You're really an idiot, Naofumi. Not only have you merely delayed Lothringen, but you involved yourself into this fucked-up plan."

"I didn't want… to stand around, being useless to you. I thought I could stop him while you escape."

"You literally forgot what my conditions for letting you come along were. I didn't want to involve you if things were going to hell! You've done worse than being useless, Naofumi!"

Naofumi's chest tightened, letting the sorrow of his actions fill himself up.

"What is the meaning of this, Shield Hero?" Lothringen stood from a distance, addressing the new potential alibi to the crimes. "Does this mean that you are assisting the Sword Hero?"

"I told you, Captain!" the one knight shouted back. " I told—!"

His comrade covered his mouth before his ally's pride would sink Lothringen's mood even further. Whatever expressions the captain may have on his face at the moment, everyone, even Ren and Naofumi, could tell that he was _not impressed_ with the outcome.

"There's been a misunderstanding, Lothringen!" He raised one hand in feigning a surrender. "Ren, the Sword Hero, isn't guilty! W-Well, he is, but there's a perfectly good explanation for it!"

"I don't think _now _is a good time for negotiations, Naofumi!"

"Whether the Sword Hero is guilty is not for me to decide," Lothringen responded with intimidation on his behalf. "That is for the wise king to decide."

Electricity started to crackle once more, further increasing the amount from before. However, Lothringen transitioned much of the magic into his fist and loaded it backwards, cocking itself like a gun.

"And if you insist on cooperating with the Sword Hero, I will be forced to take you in as well."

Ren clicked his tongue, knowing that Lothringen wasn't going to hold back as much as he did for the first time. The magic that was charging before them felt even stronger than before and it wasn't distributed evenly. It was to the point where he knew that this would push them to the brink of death, just consciousness enough to wake up perhaps a few days later.

It was over for them if this attack landed.

"[Judgement]."

With the utterance of the skill, Lothringen dashed forwards. It was much slower than [Acceleration Pierce], but the speed wasn't anything to scoff at. Nevertheless, Naofumi forced himself through his pain and leapt up from his posture, throwing up his shield in front of Ren.

"N-Naofumi!?"

"I will protect you, Ren! That's why I'm the Shield Hero!"

Lothringen roared as his body came closer, as Naofumi clenched his body for a rude awakening.

Ren could only stomp the ground before him, hollering out loud.

"_Naofumi, you idiot_!"

He held in his breath, bracing for the impact.

Lothringen's fist collided against the steel, sending a static shock everywhere. The impact was lasting and could have broken Naofumi's bone if he was taking it head-on, but even with the shield he didn't know if he could hang on to an attack like that.

However, Naofumi would never know.

"_Would it kill you to not get yourself into these types of situations, Ren?_"

A familiar man jumped in between Lothringen and Naofumi's shield from the skies above, blocking the attack with some difficulty, grunting from the expunged energy exploding on his giant sword.

The ronin-dressed man took a deep breath and threw his shoulder forwards, sending the captain backwards while making it look like it was easy to take on the attack. Ren noticed though that his sword hand was twitching unnaturally, probably from coming into contact with the high dosage of electricity.

Lothringen landed a distance away, but easily recovered from the collision, glaring at the newcomer of the street brawl. He readied his fists again, but was hesitant to enter the fray once more. He was rather confused at the turn of events, but he had to admit, this wasn't out of his erratic character.

He straightened up, cracking his knuckles within the gauntlet, hearing the boisterous roar of the familiar face. He sighed in the wake of the laughter as the giant sword crashed into the ground next to its wielder, unable to lift it with its assigned hand.

His left hand reached for the dropped sword, swinging it onto his shoulder just the same while his right arm gave up and went limp. However, it seemed like he was already holding something in his left arm and he dropped it to be able to hold his sword properly.

"By the way, you two forgot this."

That something made a squeal as her butt hit the ground, surprising Naofumi as he realized it was Raphtalia. He crouched down to see if she was alright as the man looked back, matching glares with the captain.

He smirked.

"Oi, Captain! That was a pretty heavy punch you got there! I could barely feel my arm because of that!"

Lothringen merely scoffed in response.

"What _exactly_ are you doing, _Zellus_?"

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 031 : Motoyasu's Sewing**

[Ren] : "Damn it. I know this is the best thing available to me at the moment, but the entire thing makes me look edgy. The tattered cape, the sliced clothing, and everything about it puts a bad taste in my mouth. Are you sure you don't know how to sew, Naofumi?"

[Naofumi] : "Yeah, I really don't know how to."

[Ren] : "For some reason, I felt like that was something down your alley."

[Naofumi] : "Sorry to disappoint you, Ren. Maybe there's a chance that Raphtalia knows how to sew?"

[Raphtalia] : "I don't know how to sew either…"

[Ren] : "Well, it's not like it's the end of the world. There's no real need to fret over something so small."

[Naofumi] : "I just wished Motoyasu was here in the capital. He knows how to sew pretty well."

[Raphtalia] : "Mister Motoyasu is the Spear Hero, right?"

[Naofumi] : "The same one from the stories I told you about."

[Ren] : "I feel like I just heard something ridiculous. _Motoyasu_, out of all people, _knows how to sew_?"

[Naofumi] : "Yeah, Motoyasu sometimes makes his own clothing from time to time. He has a sewing machine in his room! I'm surprised you haven't at least heard it; it's pretty loud. Haven't you at least seen it?"

[Ren] : "Why on earth would I want to go into that playboy's room!?"

[Naofumi] : "Anyways, I'm pretty sure that fixing up your equipment would be easy for Motoyasu, even if he only had threads and needles. He's surprisingly good with his hands and knows how to style the patches to fit in with the outfit."

[Ren] : "I'll pass. There's no way in hell I'm letting Motoyasu sew my clothes."

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**


	18. Chapter 1-17 : Sharpened Resolution

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

The scene was silent and still as the darken clouds were spread over the top of the capital.

Before the eyes of the spectating knights, their captain stood valiantly in his refined posture, remaining in his [Magic Equip] form. He commonly used his fist for small fights, but they weren't hoping for the fight to escalate to the point where Lothringen had to use his true weapon of choice, the warhammer Although the power that he could generate was a little less from his barehanded, he had more experience with that weapon and thus, he was much more fearsome. The sword itself was merely decorative and contributed nothing substantial to Lothringen's arsenal.

It wasn't as if their captain needed the strength he had when using his custom-crafted warhammer. With his hands alone, the Cardinal Heroes wouldn't be able to pose a significant threat to him at their current levels, at least not yet. For now, it could have been a one-sided slaughter if Lothringen really wanted it to be, but his innate nature held back on that.

However, tension rose up when they realized what happened.

Knights among the ranks always had various nicknames for some of the commonly known knights of the hierarchy and sometimes, this extended outwards to the public's ears. The person who had just blocked Lothringen's attack was referred to as the [Sword Demon], for his mysterious strength and ability to take down almost anything in his path.

That was the person who had almost killed Lothringen upon their first meeting ten years ago, and those men hadn't met each other in similar circumstances ever since the recruitment of the powerful knight. Those who remembered experiencing the aftermath, not to even mention the fight itself, shuddered in what could happen. The city itself was lucky that it ended the way that it did.

However, that person had an alternate alias and sometimes, the knights poked fun at the alias as being the reason why their captain always had a decorative sword, despite it simply being for authoritative reasoning.

In addition to [Sword Demon], Zellus Clarent was named [Lothringen's Blade].

If Lothringen's loyalty was undying to the country, then Zellus' loyalty was undying to Lothringen himself, even if he doesn't show it on his sleeves. And yet, none of the other knights, especially the newer ones, could comprehend how such a showdown between the two could come to fruition.

Regardless, that was what it looked like.

The wind bellowed, letting their clothes be flickering freely and somehow fiercely among the subtle breeze.

"_What is the meaning of this_, Zellus?"

"Been trying to ask that question ever since I was born. What exactly _is_ the meaning of all this?" Zellus then chuckled. "Or were you referring to me blocking your attack? Probably that."

Behind his back, both Ren and Naofumi held their ground, surprised to see the knight publicly come to their side. Raphtalia was still dazed as to what just happened to her. In a blink of an eye, Raphtalia felt like she warped from behind Lothringen to the two heroes somehow, not even registering properly that the knight had picked her up on the way over.

They weren't sure what was about to happen, but considering the circumstances, they were forced to rely on Zellus' strength to get out of this situation.

"You escaped?"

"Of course, I escaped, Ren. Don't kill me off so quickly." He tried moving his right arm, but the best he could do was move his shoulder. "Though, the Captain's attacks are nothing to play around with when he gets serious. I'd usually be able to take attacks like that, but my hasty entrance gave him little time to move to the ideal position of defense."

Zellus eyed Raphtalia in the corner of his perception.

"Making _that _little stop was probably the difference."

"Are you going to be alright?" Naofumi asked.

"Don't worry. This injury is nothing much. It'll heal up eventually." Naofumi doubted that from the limp state it took, but it looked like it was bothering himself more than the person experiencing it. "It makes things slightly inconvenient _now_, but whatever."

Lothringen took a stern step forward while his face was starting to turn red.

"Answer me, Zellus! Are you defecting from the knights!?"

"Captain, don't paint me as a bad guy here! We've been through a lot together, c'mon! Have a little bit more trust in me!" In contrast, Zellus had been laughing, causing Lothringen to scrunch his eyebrows. "As much as I would want to kick up some hell like we did the first time, I don't think the queen will appreciate our battle wrecking the streets again."

"What are you trying to say here?"

"_I'm saying_ that I'll be handling this situation now."

Naofumi gasped in relief.

"Y-You will!? That's great for us, isn't it!? Coming in on the nick of time to help us out!"

However, Ren frowned, noticing that Zellus' words were carefully picked out despite his whimsical tone. He couldn't shake off the bad feeling, slowly running down his spine, especially how Zellus became quiet after Naofumi's claims.

As Naofumi helped Raphtalia onto her feet, the group of three were almost ready to make their final stretch to escape the capital. Raphtalia herself didn't look like she was hurt in any way, especially compared to them, so she could probably run alongside them.

"This is really lucky for us, isn't it?"

"..."

Ren _really_ didn't think turning their back to Zellus was a good idea, but the knight saved him from his death once. He trusted him enough to undergo a break-in of the Church of Three Heroes, but whatever sixth sense he had was telling him the inverse now.

"We just get past them while Zellus holds Lothringen off." Naofumi glanced at the slave, ensuring that she herself was mentally prepared to run as if her life depended on it. "Raphtalia and I will follow your lead, Ren!"

"Follow my lead, huh?"

Ren shook that feeling away. It was most likely the antithesis of Naofumi's mindset, trying to instinctively gnaw at his head as a type of innate response to his optimism.

He looked over to see what they were up against exactly.

There were six knights nearby the gate, all noticing that the two heroes were probably going to start running for the exit soon. Compared to the breaking dash Ren had just completed, this looked rather easy, especially if Zellus was holding back the heaviest variable in the equation.

"Naofumi, you take up the frontline, bashing through everything and everyone that comes your way. Raphtalia, you stay close behind to your master, doing whatever you can to keep him safe. I'll do the same thing and—"

**[Attention]  
[You have been marked with [Anti-Status Magic (Absolute)].]**

"Huh? Ren, something just popped up before my eyes. What's this?"

Ren _fucking_ knew it.

It was too good to be true.

The sound of a sword's handle being tightened more closely by the wielder's hand clicked into his ear followed by the sudden rip of the wind's calming gale.

He acted quickly.

"Naofumi, Raphtalia! Get down!"

"Ren!?"

He pushed both of them to the side and quickly brought up his sword to defend against the same direction, knocking him into the opposite way of his friend. A giant blade swung over, colliding without hesitation and Ren couldn't even hold on against it. He was sent flying into the nearby building, as his spine felt like it shattered into a million pieces from the impact.

It hurt like hell, but when he glanced up to see what his health's percentage was from the attack, he discovered that it returned to that glitched state. He couldn't tell how much dropped, but it should have been significant if blood shot out of his mouth upon impact.

Meanwhile, Naofumi shook off the thrust, trying to come to terms as to what exactly just happened. He was still in a state of shock of what happened, seeing the end result before his eyes. Words couldn't even form for themselves. Even Raphtalia held her breath in horror as Ren slid down the wall onto his ass, trying to keep himself at the very most conscious.

"_As I said, Captain_." Rolling back from his swing, Zellus peered over his shoulder to see Lothringen's motionless expression. "I'll be taking over this situation for you. I'm not the one to steal someone's prey from underneath their nose, but I hope you can make an exception for this."

Zellus took his steps towards the gate slowly, all without looking to either heroes' direction. They both glanced at him, not believing their eyes as one more knight went and stood in their way of their victory and freedom.

He turned around, slamming his giant sword into the ground and held it there.

"_I'll_ be fighting the Shield Hero and the Sword Hero."

Lothringen's muscles relaxed a bit, lowering his fists. "It's much more beneficial if I handled this to completion, Zellus. It would be easier for me to make the reports if I'm the one who finishes this case, whereas you wouldn't need to fill out any paperwork, as you hate to do."

"It's not everyday that I can face two of the four Cardinal Heroes and have it be legal. I'll bring the culprit to you when I'm finished here, but I'm asking you to leave this to me." Zellus smirked. "I mean, they're already cornered into a dead-end and there's not much they can do anymore. You can at least let me have my fun here."

"This is no time for amusement, Zellus. They must be captured and further questioned."

"_And I'm_ telling you that I can handle it by myself. Have all the knights secure the area and evacuate those that need to be evacuated. Better than them being in the splash zone."

"Do not be ridiculous."

Zellus hummed before he took on a more serious tone, one that was sending chills down Naofumi's spine. From the personality that Naofumi knew of Zellus, he didn't think it was possible for his voice to reach such a different caliber.

"_Captain_. You may hate it when I skip out on the daily chores of a knight, but you know that when it comes to anything relating to fighting, I've never failed to execute your orders, not even once. I think I deserve a _bit _of trust here."

However, Lothringen knew the tone all too well.

The two knights had been standing firm with their feet planted into the fields. It was like two wolves, trying to break the other in yielding their territory. It was almost hard to breathe from the pressure they exerted silently, but one hand gesture to a nearby knight had been the element to break it all away, as he came closer to his captain.

"Issue the order to have all the knights currently present secure the area until Zellus is finished here. Ensure that no civilians are to use this gate until further notice and treat this place like a red zone."

The knight instinctively flinched at the term of red zone, which was primarily used for areas that were highly dangerous. Adventurers sometimes used it to refer to areas with high-levelled monsters with high fatality rates.

"Yes, Captain!"

The knight scampered off to report the orders to his colleagues as he disengaged the technique, beginning to walk away from the area. The other knights in the area heard the command as well, dispatching themselves to do what was intended.

Only Lothringen, Zellus, the heroes, and Raphtalia remained within each other's reach.

"I'll assume that you'll know what to do once you're done having your fun. I'll be checking up on the other gates in the meantime, and while the likelihood of our suspect being the Sword Hero is high, it is not certain yet."

"Thanks, Captain." Zellus made a happy grin. "I appreciate it a lot!"

"Don't misunderstand me, Zellus." Lothringen turned his head to leer over his shoulder. "I know you're a persistent bastard of a knight. If you decided that you want to do something, you'll find a way to get the last laugh. This is merely the easiest way to handle things, giving me the freedom to accept the reports from the other gates."

Lothringen began to walk away.

"My trust lies in that you are able to get those things done. Do whatever you wish, but do not forget the reason for this situation."

Both Ren and Naofumi watched as Lothringen slowly got further away into the distance before turning over to the next connecting street. Whether Naofumi could consider the captain's departure as lucky or not still stood to reason with Zellus' motivations.

Naofumi, not caring about the fact that their attacker was simply standing idle, stood up and started to cross the street, meeting up with Ren as Raphtalia ran behind him.

"Mister Ren!" Raphtalia exclaimed.

She tried pulling on Ren's clothes to help him out, but he was finding it more of a nuisance than anything. Naofumi came up on the other side though and provided better support for him to get back on his feet.

"Ren, how are you holding up!?" Naofumi asked.

The physical trauma that his body received was starting to recover slightly, but everything was feeling like hell. Ren gritted his teeth to help mentally ease the pain as he tried getting through Naofumi's concerns.

"I'm… fine…"

"You're clearly not!"

"Then why… did you ask?"

Ren coughed up some of his saliva, mixed together with drops of blood. There wasn't too much that landed into his covering hand, but he was starting to be worried about the amount of blood he lost over the last twenty-four hours.

"Mister Ren, you're the Sword Hero! You can't lose here!"

"Get a hold of yourself, Ren!"

However, there wasn't any moment to waste.

"Just give me… a minute, Naofumi…"

With Zellus as their new opponent, Ren couldn't fight him in this state.

Ren reached into his pocket and felt a single pill still inside. He remembered in his blurs that there were more that Zellus stashed, but they all must have gotten flung everywhere or got lost at Erhart's when he removed his clothes.

He took it into his hand and popped it into his mouth, triggering the ten minutes of pain ignorance the second he swallowed it.

"R-Ren? Was that medicine?"

"You don't need to worry about that for now." Ren leaned forwards into the streets and started walking by himself, much to Naofumi's surprise. He went to brandish his blade at the remaining opponent in their path. "We have something bigger we have to deal with."

Naofumi and Raphtalia came to Ren's side as Zellus made a hearty chuckle.

"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to get the open ambush on you two. _Erhm_." Zellus raised his eyebrows at Raphtalia, looking more frightened. "Two and a half? Does the girl know how to fight at all?"

"What's the meaning of this, Zellus?"

"God, I already answered that question!" Zellus groaned, scratching the back of his head. "Weren't you listening when I was trying to get Lothringen out of here? I'm going to be dealing with this situation in the Captain's place, whether he wants me to or not."

"So are you really going to let us walk free?" Naofumi asked lightly. "The attack you launched at Ren, that was only something to get Lothringen to be convinced that you're on his side, right?"

"Of course! I'll let you walk free if you really want to leave!"

"R-Really!? That's great—!"

"You can leave on the condition that you can defeat me."

Ren growled under his breath. "_Figures_. And I'm guessing, you're not going easy on us?"

"_Bingo_," Zellus answered with a wink. "I'm thinking that the Shield Hero already knows what happened last night, so I'll spare any of the details. Hopefully, you told him. However, just because we were allied with each other last night, it doesn't mean that remains to be true here."

"You're the one that approached me about it!"

"Yeah, you're right. However, my head isn't on the chopping block here and well, I can't be the one taking the blame for that entire mess. Sorry, but I'm planning for you to take the fall for me."

"Wait, but you said the king was—!"

"I lied. It was something personal." Ren stiffened as Zellus said those words without guilt on his expression. "Think of me how you want. Your opinion of me won't change what's going to happen because all I'm doing is finishing up what needs to be done."

Naofumi stepped forwards. "I thought you were on our side! That's what Itsuki and Ren made it sound like when you went to help them!"

"And I'm still a knight of Melromarc, no matter how you slice it," Zellus sighed. "Look, whatever happened in the Church of Three Heroes was never met to be planned and I guess they were three steps ahead of me. But honestly, I would have thought you would go quietly with Lothringen."

"Like hell I would and like hell I can believe those words. Not planned?" Ren scoffed. "How do I know that you weren't working with the Church to get me blacklisted like Naofumi?"

"So that's how you see it? I guess it doesn't matter."

Zellus picked up the giant sword with his only good arm and gestured the two heroes with his head, beckoning them for the fight.

"Don't think about pretenses or possible motivations. Right now, all you have to know is that I stand in your way of your goal and you need to cut me down. You can't hesitate to fight if your opponent is simply someone you perceived as an ally before."

Ren's grip on his sword tightened as he dropped into a battle posture. Naofumi turned to him in horror.

"Are you serious about this, Ren!?"

"If Zellus wants to stand in our way, there's only one option we have."

"_That's right_. That's right!" Zellus chuckled. "That's the spirit, Ren! There is no right or wrong nor is there good or evil on the battlefield! There exist only the sounds of clashing weapons!"

However, Ren clicked his tongue, mulling in his thoughts.

If Naofumi's defense was high enough, he could imagine him being able to take Zellus' attacks, but the sheer difference in potential levels between them disregarded what Naofumi's highest stat was. It wasn't as if Naofumi could resort to a secondary set of offense, not to mention Raphtalia who only had a few days of combat experience against easy monsters.

If they couldn't deal a consistent output of damage to Zellus, the match was over before it started. Hell, he even wondered if they could break through his skin from what Batka was talking about in the secret passageways.

"Hey, Zellus. What level are you?" Ren asked out of curiosity.

He wanted to gauge how much of a chance they really had.

"Are you worried about my defense overcoming your attack stats?"

Zellus made a disgruntled expression, as if he was sour about the question.

"Don't even _think _about that. I want you two to come at me with the intent to kill me, because I'll tell you something important. When you fight against me, things like defense and attack don't matter. Those little mechanics make everything about this world more trivial and can go to hell."

Ren raised his eyebrow.

"I guess you'll figure out what I mean soon enough."

Meanwhile, Zellus bent his knees.

"Nevertheless, fight as if everything is on the line! Hold nothing back and act like any attack can kill me!"

He kicked off from his position and closed the distance between them. Both Ren and Naofumi got ready, realizing he was approaching rapidly. Regardless if they were prepared, there was nothing else to do, even with questions still pacing within their minds.

Even with his limp arm, Zellus remained a big threat.

"Now then, Cardinal Heroes! _Show me _what you're capable of!"

* * *

**)**—**(\**IV**| Chapter 1-17 |**IV**/)|**—**(  
)\\( Sharpened Resolution )/(**

* * *

"Damn it, here he comes! Naofumi! Raphtalia! Stay back!"

Ren dashed forwards, baring his blade's sharp fang and slammed his attack against Zellus' very own. The colliding steel kicked up a violent breeze that made it difficult for Naofumi to approach in his wake.

The blade itself was too heavy for Ren to defend against, so in a burst of power, he flicked the giant sword away, but Zellus used the momentum to swing counterclockwise and approach him from the other side. Ren jumped over the sweeping attack like it was a high-jump event, barely nicking the edge with his back and landed, thrusting his sword for a direct hit.

However, Zellus flipped his handling around, blocking Ren's attack on its flat surface. Zellus pushed out the weapon, staggering Ren backwards as he leapt, bringing down an overhead slash. He rolled out of the attack's reach and prepared to bounce back, but Zellus had kicked him away before he could act.

The amount of control the knight had along that giant sword and with only one hand was insane, breaching levels that Ren didn't even expect. He would hate to imagine what could be done with both hands.

Quickly, Naofumi ran over, catching him before he could fly any further.

"Ren, I know you're strong." Naofumi pushed the both of them onto their feet as Raphtalia dwindled behind, not knowing how to contribute. "I don't think you're strong enough to deal with Zellus. He's a high-ranking knight and there's probably a good reason for that. We definitely need a plan against him."

He growled at Naofumi's claims. "Just leave me alone! I can do this!"

Ren pushed himself up from Naofumi's hands and started running back to Zellus, dragging his sword from the left. The knight threw his giant sword into the air as it landed into the street behind him and drew a normal broadsword, matching Ren's furious approach and multi-hitting strikes. He was managing to keep up with the aggression with a relaxed expression, even when he was being pushed back.

Though, Ren felt like Zellus was _letting_ himself be pushed back.

"I know you may have pent-up emotions, but don't let that distract your battle tactics!" Zellus exclaimed in the middle of the clash. "It's fine to have your emotions hold the reins, but you can't let it control the flow of your combat! Or else—!"

Zellus parried one of Ren's slashes, staggering him backwards while the knight stabbed his sword into the ground. He lunged forwards to grab Ren's arm before he could recover and pulled him over his shoulder, tossing him down the street.

"—you'll be wide open and easy to read!"

Ren's back hit the flat surface of the giant blade, sending a numbed shock into his body. When he opened his eyes, Zellus flung into the air and sent himself to grab the giant sword's handle, pushing against it.

The ground started to move below Ren. He jumped out of the way and kept backing up as Zellus used part of the ground as a fulcrum, sending up into the air the bricks of the streets from where he stood. He then swung his sword around and like a game of baseball, struck homeruns on the falling bricks flying right into Ren's face.

However, Naofumi was able to step in before Ren could feel any of the attacks. Raphtalia stayed behind Ren, trying to keep safe from the projectiles.

Defending against the projectiles was a different story. Even though the bricks were being blocked by the shield, Naofumi's arms could still feel the power that came from turning them into brick crumbles upon impact.

Naofumi would have said that this was the first instance of nuisance pain he experienced in this world, but it didn't feel like it was something that was scratching at his defence. In fact, if he was asked to hold up a shield against flying bricks back in their world, this is what he would imagine it to feel like.

Once the bricks stopped, Naofumi peered over his shield to check on Zellus' position.

"Ren! I want to help you out here! We can beat him if we act together as one!"

"You should take him up on the offer, Ren!" Zellus said, resting his giant sword back on his shoulder. "If you can't match me in strength, then you'll have to do it in terms of numbers, especially if it's a straight-up fight like this! Besides, I want to see what the Shield Hero himself is capable of!"

"I can tell he's not a normal opponent, Naofumi," Ren growled. "I can barely grasp his limits and I don't think you'll be able to survive in a fight like this. You certainly don't know how to use your shield effectively."

"Can't I stand next to you and block attacks whenever you need it?" Naofumi asked. "I mean, it's been working over the last week with Raphtalia against monsters."

"But Zellus may be a monster _of another term_. Tactics like that wouldn't work against him."

"It worked just now."

"That's not the point I'm trying to make! I'm barely holding my ground, even with my knowledge from _Brave Star Online_!" Ren walked around Naofumi and stood by his side. "Listen to me, Naofumi! You have to look after Raphtalia and get stronger, right!? You need to slip past Zellus somehow with her while I deal with him!"

"I am _not_ leaving you, Ren!"

"Don't be a dumbass!"

"I want to fight with you!"

Ren bit down on his teeth as Batka's dead body flashed into mind again. If truth be told, he didn't want to endanger Naofumi here on his ridiculous whims, and he certainly didn't want to have him dead. Baring responsibility for that was too much on his consciousness, but if Naofumi refused to leave, the most he could do was alleviate the apparent guilt.

"Fine! Stay if you want to! Don't come running to me if you get captured!"

Ren glanced behind him, seeing Raphtalia trying to keep up.

"Raphtalia!"

"Y-Yes, Mister Ren?"

"Move to the side! You won't be of much use here against Zellus. Your master is one thing, but there's no chance in hell you'll be contributing much. You'll just get in the way!"

Raphtalia looked to be sad from the declaration, but she sincerely understood that truth. She was only a child who hadn't been using a weapon for more than a week so far, so it was suicide to try and assist in a fight against someone who was treating a fight with the Sword Hero as a spectacle.

Ren noticed and held back his aggravated state, just for the moment.

"Look. If things go south with the both of us, just run to Erhart's place and stay with him," Ren said, somewhat softly. "Understand?"

"Y-Yes, I understand…"

Raphtalia ran out into an alleyway to hide, peeking out to keep an eye on the battle.

"So the young girl herself isn't going to be fighting?"

"She's a child, Zellus!"

Zellus harrumphed. "She's a child that I feel potential from. It's just a feeling I get from her though, and nothing more than that. Can't really explain it, but I really wanted to see her in action to confirm it." He made a longing sigh until he turned it into a smirk. "Though, I guess I can't complain when I have a chance of a lifetime to fight half of the Cardinal Heroes."

Ren and Naofumi tensed their bodies before Zellus' nonchalant attitude. It was as if he wasn't taking this fight seriously.

"Now that Ren has a good gauge as to the difference in skill, you'll need to re-evaluate how you'll approach me, especially when you got an extra set of hands on deck. Use everything at your disposal," Zellus said, as he tapped the empty brick slots from the street with his foot, "even the environment around you. To triumph against a difficult opponent, you need to outsmart them with strategy and abuse everything in your hands for your own power. Don't waste your cards, your energy, or your time."

Since Zellus' other arm was still disabled, he beckoned the two heroes with a quick nod to tell them to come to him whenever they wanted to. As much as their atmosphere emitted a smugness in his attitude, it actually felt like he was trying to teach them rather than to mock them, despite the opposition.

"Now then, let's get this game rolling whenever you're ready. Show me how you'll deal with this obstacle in your way."

Ren immediately peered over to his ally.

"Naofumi, what skills do you have under your belt?"

"What do you mean 'skills'?"

"Special attacks or abilities that cost SP or MP. You should have gotten _some_ if you kept using [Weapon Copy] or absorbing materials."

Naofumi tried to remember if he read anything like that in his tutorial menus, but he never saw such a thing. He guessed that it was still like one of the tutorials that showed up once he actually got a skill to play around with.

"I… don't believe I _have_ any." Naofumi opened up his menu to scroll through the weapons that he had, checking quickly on the details of each one to see if he had accidentally missed them. "Aside from the recipe things, stat boosts, and various other things, I don't think I have anything that could count as a usable skill."

'._.. Recipes?_' Ren immediately shook his head. '_No, this isn't the time to think about that._'

Naofumi's fault for not having a large arsenal of shields may have come from the fact that he couldn't exactly fight the same amount of monsters or enter the same amount of weapon shops that he could. For all Ren could do with Naofumi specifically by his side, it didn't seem like it could amount to much.

Despite that, being a nuisance that must be dealt with, even if one couldn't do damage, was a valid strategy in battle.

"Then Naofumi, follow up on me and help apply pressure on Zellus."

"How do I apply pressure?"

Ren sincerely wanted to pinch his forehead in frustration, but instead, he tried to scrunch up for any words that didn't sound degrading.

"Just… run at him, swinging your shield or something! Give him a reason to not ignore you!"

"Is there a proper way to do it?"

"If there is, you better learn how to do it quickly!"

He didn't have time to waste, breaking down a tutorial for Naofumi. The timer for the painkiller was still ticking down and Ren started to lunge himself towards the knight, leaving Naofumi lagging behind from the sudden response.

"Another frontal assault? Not the best idea," Zellus said, swapping his giant sword for his saber, "but I hope you can come up with something different and interesting."

Ren launched a strong horizontal swipe, only to have it be blocked without any holes of error. With the momentum generated, he used his footwork to spin around Zellus while unleashing another slash. That too had been blocked as the two blades started to ramp up in rhythm, treating their metallic collisions like a harmonic beat.

Naofumi could barely keep up if he was in Ren's position, but holding his shield forwards, he started running towards the knight from the opposite side. If Ren told him to try to swing his shield at Zellus, then he would have to do just that. He didn't understand how much it would help though; his attack stat was extremely low.

"I'm coming, Ren!"

"Shield Hero, don't announce things like that out loud."

Zellus pushed Ren away using one of the parries and stepped out of the bashing shield's trajectory. Naofumi used all of his weight into the assault, so he staggered a bit, not thinking that the knight would have dodged it so easily.

"You can't beat me in a straight up fight. Use the element of surprise if you can to gain the high ground."

As Naofumi passed him, he threw his saber into the air. Zellus then grabbed his arm and swung him over to Ren's direction, roughly tossing him into his friend. He collapsed, crashing into Ren as the two heroes made a grunting noise upon hitting the ground.

"God, Naofumi get off of me!"

"S-Sorry! I'm trying to…!"

Zellus in the meanwhile caught his saber from the air and looked at them with a disappointed shake of his head. He followed up by leaping into the air as his saber ignited into a bright light, aiming for the two fallen-down heroes. He thrusted downwards, aiming as if he was trying to make a hero kebab.

He didn't even announce a skill name and the power behind the attack felt powerful.

Ren pushed Naofumi to the side, narrowly rolling himself out of the way after as the saber struck the ground. The impact sent a shockwave that separated the two heroes further from each other, pushing them to opposing walls along the street.

Ren managed to catch himself onto his feet, but Naofumi hadn't been so lucky. He then bounced back immediately, seeing that the saber itself looked stuck in the earthen sheath. Ren's sword lit up in a bright light, showing Naofumi just what a skill really was as he dashed closer to the target.

"[Horizontal Strike]!"

"Good thinking! Make sure to abuse the possible cooldowns that big attacks make!"

Despite saying that, Zellus released his grip on his weapon and pulled out a dagger from his belt, spinning it in a full cycle before he lashed it out. Zellus' blade didn't have the same spark, making Ren believe that his skill might be able to overpower the defense maneuver.

However, the light disengaged the moment the two weapons clashed.

"But what you did as a punishment for my missed skill was no good at all. You still gave me too many options to react with, alongside the fact that you didn't throw your shoulder into that skill. Skills aren't meant to be automatic, Ren. Use them like they're a part of you!"

Zellus pushed the blades aside and spun around as Ren recovered, nailing the swordsman in the face with a roundhouse kick. Ren wondered if the painkiller was doing its job properly because he definitely felt the aches in his cheek as Zellus' heel sunk deeper in.

Ren staggered backwards as Zellus readied his dagger for another attack.

"Like I'll let you!"

Naofumi ran up to stop Zellus, grabbing his wrist for control of the dagger. He struggled to keep it in his grasp as the knight started to move around, trying to shake Naofumi off, but he kept it was important to keep his weight pressured on his feet to hang on.

"Good, good! Going for the wrist!" Zellus cheered as Naofumi hung on like a man on a rodeo. "Though, exactly how long can you keep this up!?"

"As long…! As Ren needs…!"

Zellus smirked as Ren recovered from the kick and had been returning with a fierce strike. He winded up for a simple slash, but it looked like it was coming at a faster speed.

"Hold him still, Naofumi!"

"I got it!"

Naofumi shifted his weight and strained his muscles to get Zellus into position, transitioning the wrist-lock to pass both of his arms underneath Zellus' armpits. It effectively trapped the knight in a messy full nelson hold. However, it still did the trick, keeping Zellus' dagger away while Naofumi had relatively good gripping on him.

"S-Sorry about this, Zellus!"

"Shield Hero, don't apologize to your opponents! That's a sign of weakness!"

Zellus tugged on Naofumi and pulled his body as a meat shield for them. Unfortunately, Ren's attack had already swung forwards as Zellus quickly displaced his friend, striking his arm in the crossfire. Thankfully, Ren managed to step back a bit, so that it wasn't a serious attack, but the sudden pain in Naofumi's arm made him release his grip.

Zellus kicked the distracted Shield Hero into the dazed Sword Hero and sent them crashing into the distance on top of each other. They bounced a few steps before Ren managed to slide back onto his feet, whereas Naofumi clicked his tongue at the wound he sustained.

"You alright?"

"Y-Yeah, but… Damn it, that really stings...!" Naofumi slowly stood back up, touching the wound and seeing that blood had been dripping out. "I wonder how much health that took off."

Ren stiffened. "You can't tell?"

"Since I got that weird notification, my health bar's been all glitched out. I can't tell how much damage I've sustained so far, so I'm basically running on instinct at this point and how much I feel like I can take." Naofumi groaned. "What a time for it to be glitching out, where we're in an important fight."

Zellus sheathed his dagger and took out his saber once again.

"I guess you can say it's glitching out, but it's something intentionally caused," he said, spinning his saber in his hand to pass the time. "That's simply the by-product of the Status Magic trying to figure out what the hell is going on with its system."

"What are you saying?" Ren asked.

"You're a smart guy, Ren. Try to figure out what I mean!"

Zellus closed the distance and took Ren by surprise, taking him off his feet as he rammed over the swordsman. He rolled over him and landed behind them, brandishing his blade as Ren struggled to register what happened on the ground.

"C-Crap!" he leered, rolling his chin upwards.

"And never keep your guard dropped! Especially when you're speaking with an opponent! Real battlefields have no places for words where the fighting already does the talking for you!"

Before Zellus could rush him down, Naofumi jumped in the way and took blows to his shield. Naofumi winced in the shock behind Zellus' multi-hitting attack and was in disbelief that this was a natural attack speed. He could feel every ounce of his arm screaming underneath the pressure, but he miraculously kept up.

"Keep this up, Shield Hero!" Zellus cheered on, throwing Naofumi a bit off. "But don't just react! Read the pattern your opponent is making! Start looking for holes! And most importantly, push off your opponent or counter if anything you got when you can!"

"Z-Zellus, what are you...?"

It felt like his sword strike had been quickly increasing in speed, causing Naofumi to stumble in his defense slightly. It was as if Zellus was moderating his attacks because of the inexperience Naofumi had, but started to dial it up slowly. If he didn't know any better, it felt like the man was trying to teach him.

"You can't keep defending! You will start to lose! Think with your instincts, Shield Hero! Act without hesitation!"

Naofumi had his legs bent, trying to hang on against Zellus. His only hope had been for Ren to stand back up, but he was afraid Ren wouldn't be able to reach him in time before his shielding capabilities gave in. Some of the attacks were starting to slip past, jabbing at his arm and chest, but not for long as Zellus would pull back before Naofumi could knock the blade away.

He couldn't think of anything that could save him, but it was clear that his movements were starting to pale in comparison. He tried to remember what shields he had that could help him, but the list had been too niche for him to remember off the top of his head.

However, he did remember one thing.

Naofumi carefully watched Zellus' movement like the knight told him, immediately discovering that Zellus was attacking his right arm, then left chest, followed by his right shoulder to an upwards slash. And he simply repeated it over and over in rapid succession.

He felt a pricking thrust hit his left chest, so that meant the next attack was—

"Here!"

Naofumi shifted his weight forwards and parried Zellus' attack on his right shoulder, staggering the knight for a split second, but a single moment was all he needed. He tucked his hand into his cloak before unleashing a punch that sent Zellus away from him.

It was a direct hit to the stomach.

Zellus slid to a halt, coughing a bit.

Naofumi held his hope that it worked, but it was all erased when Zellus started to chuckle.

"That's right, Shield Hero! You got the hang of it and that right hook of yours is pretty—Huh?"

Zellus then winced at his stomach and looked down, suddenly noticing that there was a balloon chomping where Naofumi had 'punched' him. He never took the final balloon from his body where it had been freely munching on a piece of armour that he laid on his waist.

"Heh, I didn't expect that one!" Zellus laughed, causing Naofum's jaw to drop. He hadn't been bothered, not by the slightest in the surprise attack. He casually switched his saber from his dagger and aimed the blade at the monster. "Well done, Shield Hero! That would have definitely thrown your enemies off their guard!"

He stabbed the monster and it popped, but as Ren managed to get back on his feet, he noticed something odd.

Zellus was _bleeding _from the low-levelled monster. There were bite marks covered in blood where the balloon had been killed, but that clearly didn't make any sense from what Batka had told him. If a low-attack stat monster went to bite a high-levelled knight, Bakta's logic of the world said that it would do nothing great like how the balloon was biting Naofumi so lovingly.

And yet, this wasn't the case.

Ren had his theory, but needed to confirm it.

"How about we kick this up a notch now!?" Zellus exclaimed, holding his dagger before him.

A wind started to kick up, surrounding Zellus, as Ren realized what the knight was trying to do.

"Naofumi, quickly! Stop him!"

"W-What?" Naofumi snapped out of his daze. "From doing what!?"

Ren sprinted forwards and threw himself at Zellus, dragging his blade to rip through the target, all before Naofumi could recognize what could possibly be happening. Zellus took a single step out of the attack's range, narrowly dodging it, but Ren held the tip when it became pointed at the knight and thrusted.

"[Cancel, Magic Equip]!"

The wind exploded from Zellus' body and sent Ren flying backwards, only to have Naofumi catch him before he soared to the end of the street. He leaned out from his friend's grasp and clicked his tongue, knowing that the fight hasn't even gotten close to the highest point yet.

"There was once a strange folktale that went around, heroes. Do you know of it?" Zellus asked, causing both of the heroes to frown in confusion. The knight took that as a sign that they didn't. "It spoke of the unstoppable spear and the immovable shield. They said that the shield was the winner, as the shield remained to do its job."

The winds covering Zellus started flickering his clothes violently as he prepared his dagger and posture.

"However, who was the one to say that the spear has to be unstoppable and the shield as immovable? Quite a boring folktale where victory is already decided by the premise, if I say so myself."

Zellus smirked.

"But that's enough rambling from me."

As the brushing gale, he seemingly disappeared from his position, but Ren felt the violent wind brushing past him.

He turned around and threw out his sword, colliding with Zellus' quick attacks. The knight bounced back and tossed his empowered dagger at the heroes, causing both of them to jump out of the way.

"Naofumi, help me rush him down!"

"Y-Yeah, got it!"

As Zellus landed a distance away, the two heroes ran at him. Ren opened up by slashing and Naofumi followed with a bash; both were skillfully avoided by the knight, but the third attack were uncoordinated. They both launched their attacks, accidentally knocking into each other before it could come close to Zellus.

"Why did you follow up your own attack!?"

"I thought I was helping to rush him down!"

"Don't be distracted by your own lack of coordination, especially right in front of the opponent!"

Zellus grabbed his giant sword using the time the heroes gave during the little squabble and unleashed the outward whirlwind and flung them away. Ren backflipped himself to land on his feet while Naofumi clumsily hit the street's surface.

There hadn't been much time to recollect themselves as Zellus closed the distance, swinging his giant sword down at the duo. Ren, thinking quickly, kicked Naofumi out of the way and took the full extent of the attack on his sword.

The ground shook momentarily as Ren's feet were pushed deeper into the street, He held his hand along the blade to help support his blocking, but even that felt like his sword would have snapped into two pieces if possible.

Naofumi shook himself back up and started running to Ren to assist him. He leapt up to try and get Zellus off his friend, but Ren, without noticing Naofumi's recovery, pushed outwards to get Zellus to back up, causing him to take a step before him.

"W-Watch out!"

"Huh? What are you—!?"

Naofumi ended up crashing into Ren, throwing both of them off their feet.

"What are you doing, Naofumi!?"

"I-I'm… I'm just trying to…"

"The battlefield is not the place to sort out emotions! Let your weapons and movements speak for themselves!"

Zellus drew his giant sword backwards as a great amount of magic started to source itself into the blade. As it compacted densely, he dragged it through the street and a swinging underarc, blasting a vibrant emerald slash composed of solid air.

"[Beam Blade]!"

The projectile flew at them, exploding directly into them as they went flying down the streets, further away from their objective. Ren hoarsely coughed, breathing heavily as Naofumi felt like he just wanted to keep his head planted on the ground. His chest felt heavy, as if the air was scraping his lungs.

His subconsciousness wanted surrender to be an option, but his mind knew he needed to keep Ren and Raphtalia safe. Nevertheless, his body was starting to understand the benefits that the subconsciousness was offering, much to his mental disagreement.

"Naofumi, get up!"

However, his friend, who had already risen up despite the injuries sustained, pushed him roughly back and forth with his foot. Naofumi, with a blurred vision clearing up, saw Ren's annoyed expression.

"I'm sorry, Ren…" Naofumi gasped for air. "I-I can't keep up…"

Ren growled, pushing away his pride to try to motivate his friend. "You're the one that got that blood mark on him! Not me! I mean, if I was by myself, I would have done it already, but—"

"Then go ahead. I can't pull my own weight here."

Naofumi suddenly rose up from the ground, but not of his volition. Ren grabbed Naofumi's collar, struggling to lift a person heavier than him up to their feet, but he did it to try and get a point across.

"R-Ren…?"

"Stop."

He brought his face closer to Naofumi, allowing the friend to see the raw emotions that were rarely seen. Naofumi couldn't even describe what type of expression Ren was making, but it was clear that he was hurting.

"Stop it, Naofumi. _Stop doubting yourself_!"

His screams erupted through the streets as Zellus watched from the distance.

"You've been all wishy-washy the moment we've gotten here! You've been letting all of these events run you over because you feel like you can't do shit against it! You doubt that you can change anything! And maybe you're right! Maybe you can't do anything! Maybe there's things I myself can't change, but sure as hell, I'm not going down on anyone else's terms! And neither should you!

"Now that I think about, you probably didn't want to go against the trial, not because they had solid evidence—it was because you felt like you couldn't do anything. You didn't fight back with teeth and nails, reaching your voice out. From how you recited the trial to us, it sounded like you got pushed over! Without Aldrecht's words, it would have been a complete stomp against you! Hell, even Motoyasu _at the very least_ tried before he regressed back into a dumbass! And that wasn't even for his own sake; that was for _you_!

"Why are you still doubting yourself, Naofumi!? Answer me that damn question! Are you trying to take the easy route!? Are you seeing if you can simply fly by this entire situation on our shoulders!? You can't pull your own weight, because you don't want to! That's what I think you're trying to _really_ say!

"And here I thought you were starting to get better, but no! You were trying to _act_ like you were getting better, buying a slave for yourself to ensure that you at least have the image! Why did you even buy Raphtalia anyways if it was for such a meaningless reason!?"

Naofumi froze in Ren's heated words.

This was on a different scale as to how Ren ranted a week ago. The proof was in front of him as Ren's face was actually starting to turn red out of sheer anger. He really felt like Ren wanted to kill him from the way he spoke loudly.

"Why are you trying to help me _if you can't even help yourself_!?"

"I-I… I… "

Naofumi didn't know how to respond to Ren's complaints, standing motionlessly and absorbing the words into his heart. They seeped through, like spiritual hands grabbing him from behind and holding that beating organ so tightly that it could have exploded at any moment.

The motionless sound of thunder roared as rain started pouring.

Zellus sighed, seeing that the two heroes probably lost their full drive to continue the fight. If that was the case, he didn't want to drag this on any longer as he pulled back his sword and charged another [Beam Blade]. He really wanted to see what else the heroes were capable of, but he reluctantly tightened his grip and prepared to swing forwards.

However, Zellus stopped.

He felt a sharp pain at his leg.

He looked down to see a scared little girl with her dagger thrusted into his calf. Her eyes were screaming silently as blood spilled out from the muscle, as if she was frightened by the scenery alone, but a quiet squeal came from her mumbling mouth.

"_D-Don't…_"

Zellus merely leered at her with his mouth wide open. Her dagger was sloppily stabbed through and her hands had been shaking, even backing up a bit after she couldn't find the will to pull it back out.

Somehow, he didn't notice the slave girl approach him until she already attacked him.

'_Impressive. She really does have potential._'

Zellus, without another word, expunged his magical state outwards, which sent Raphtalia backwards into the wall. He wanted to see if he could push the child to produce the same results, but that expression she had on her face immediately told him that she wasn't anywhere close to being able to have a proper session, especially if she was afraid of blood.

The knight sheathed his current weapon and went to remove the dagger in his leg. Seeing her squirm simply confirmed that hemophobia. It stung, but it didn't manage to go too deeply.

"You know, little lady?" Zellus transitioned the wind into her dagger, removing all of the blood and strengthening it as he held it between his fingers. "You shouldn't be fighting these battles if you're not mentally prepared. When you attack someone and draw their blood, that tells me that you're prepared to die yourself. You don't take a life without staking it yourself. So are you ready, little lady?"

Both Naofumi and Ren heard Raphtalia's noise, seeing that the young girl was suddenly being targeted by Zellus. They both were able to suspect that Raphtalia attacked him, given the new wound, but only Ren was able to see it for what it really meant.

"W-What is Raphtalia doing!?" Naofumi exclaimed. "What is _Zellus _doing!?"

Naofumi wanted to move, but Ren's words still had a grip on him. It looked like Zellus was about to injure, or possibly kill, Raphtalia for interfering and his expression was stone cold as he prepared to throw the dagger at her. She curled up and held her breath, as Naofumi tried to move himself to protect her.

He still has a promise to keep to her, but only his voice functioned.

"Z-Zellus…! Please don't hurt her!"

What type of person would he be if he couldn't keep a life-long promise for even a week?

"M-Master Naofumi!"

"Zellus, leave her alone!"

However, Ren wasn't saying anything.

He was already closing the distance, already preparing the skill on the unnamed copied sword.

"[Faust Aqua Shot]! [Mahou Tensei]!"

Ren's trailing bursted into a stream of water with the plans to shred through everything in its way. He lunged himself at the knight, who repositioned Raphtalia's dagger and a proper grip to intercept Ren's attack. With both hands firmly grabbing the sword's handle, he unleashed a bright light in the same moment.

"Your opponent _is me_, Zellus!" He leaned his shoulder into the attack and let the skill rip before him. "[Horizontal Strike]!"

Zellus managed to act quickly and block the skill, causing Ren to click his tongue in spite, but his skill hadn't deactivated yet. Ren shouted to help motivate his body to push onwards and not before long, the knight noticed the dagger starting to crack.

'_This isn't a good dagger…!_'

Ren made the final burst and threw his body into the skill, cleanly snapping Raphtalia's dagger into two pieces of blade and hilt. The wind from the dagger spurted out, blowing away all of the water droplets from the skies from the momental scene. It caused Zellus to forcibly back up to try and get another weapon in his hand.

However, Ren wasn't going to let him.

"_Where the hell are you going_!?"

His sword ignited once more for a consecutive skill, as he readied to thrust the blade into the retreating knight. Six transparent blades started to emerge from the blade itself and spun around the glowing light, all before they converged back into the undying light to strengthen it.

The Sword Hero took one quick step forward as Raphtalia watched the beautiful sparks glistening around him. It was almost soothing to see, something she felt she needed after seeing the warm, red liquid.

"[Six-Bladed Thrust]!"

Ren shot the quick skill into Zellus' head and for a second, it looked like it would have landed. However, Zellus seemed to have moved his head at the last possible moment, allowing the skill to merely scratch his cheek as he flew right by.

The knight then clenched his fist and countered, slamming a punch into Ren's chest to send him backwards, and yet, that was what had supposed to happen.

He didn't anticipate Ren hanging on by grabbing Zellus' collar with his other hand. Taking a deep breath, he pulled them together as he smashed his skull onto Zellus', sending the knight backwards and leaving the swordsman to drop onto the ground in front of Raphtalia. He leered upwards, trying to ease the mental pain as Zellus staggered away.

"C-Cheeky move!" Zellus smiled, as he rubbed his forehead. "I like it! That's some great fighting instinct, Ren! Unfortunately, that should only be left to an all-or-nothing tactic or a desperation move. You still had some kick left in you."

"S-Shut… up…"

Ren fought through the small headache he gave himself, judging that the painkiller wasn't giving him an exit card for that, and took his stand.

"Why the hell am I doing any of this…?"

"Ren! Raphtalia! Are you two alright!?"

"Oh, _now_ you move!? She's your damn responsibility here, not mine!" he snarled as Naofumi ran up to see how his friend was handling himself. "Fucking hell, Naofumi!"

Ren's glare struck his friend as he slowly came to a halt before being able to come to his side.

At first, Ren didn't want Naofumi to participate in order to keep him safe.

Now, Ren simply just wants Naofumi to leave. Seeing his frightened expression was somehow pissing him off even more until he couldn't take it anymore.

"You know what? This is _over_."

"W-What's over?"

"_Leave_." That single word shattered Naofumi's heart, seeing that Ren sincerely meant it with every ounce of his body. It was almost too eerie from the fact Ren had concealed his bursted anger back into a silent rage. "I don't care _what _you want to say, but frankly, I don't care. I need you to take Raphtalia and get _the fuck_ out of this capital. I told my party members that I would leave them if they couldn't keep up and the same applies to you and as someone who believes he can't even stand on the same field as me, you're functionally useless."

Naofumi looked at his shield bleakly.

Ren clicked his tongue while looking away. He wasn't even trying to argue back.

"B-But… what about you?" Naofumi asked, realizing the implications of his departure.

"Stop worrying about me. It's honestly annoying," he answered in a low tone. "For a change, how about you start worrying about yourself? I'm not telling you to be entirely selfish, but you could stand to become a bit more self-_aware_."

Naofumi was feeling frustrated at himself.

He wasn't only letting his friend down, but he was letting himself down in the process. He glanced at the slaved demi-human and quickly took her into his arms. He felt ashamed to even look at his friend anymore as the world started to feel more grey to him, being on the verge of breaking down.

"I'm… really sorry, Ren."

"And stop apologizing," Ren said, with resentment in his throat. "Apologies are empty words anyways. Just keep an eye out for my signal, so that you can slip past Zellus."

Zellus grabbed his giant sword and brought it back out again to rest on his shoulder as Ren postured himself for another clash. The painkiller definitely mitigated some of the attacks he took, but it didn't do anything regarding fatigue. Ren tried controlling his breath and slapped energy back into his arms.

He knew that if Naofumi and Raphtalia were to escape, he would need to keep Zellus as busy as possible, but really, he didn't know if he had the capacity to commit to another raging onslaught again, not to mention if Zellus would be able to cut it short and disengage.

However, the knight had sighed.

"If you want the Shield Hero and his slave to leave, that's fine by me," Zellus said, surprising the heroes. "I can deal with the consequences of that for myself. Besides, it's not amusing to fight someone who has lost their drive to fight. I didn't even need to hear the conversation; the eyes said it all."

"Z-Zellus… Y-You…"

The knight started to walk to the side of the streets, letting Naofumi have a free walk to the gate. He hesitated to even take the offer, but Ren had been vigilante of the offer. He still couldn't trust Zellus' words and there was the chance he was going to use the chance to take out Naofumi and Raphtalia in a single swoop.

"You still don't believe me?" Zellus shrugged. "Then I suppose I'll have to show you."

Almost immediately, Zellus dashed into Ren within a few seconds, bashing his shoulder into Ren's chest and knocking the two combatants backwards, leaving Naofumi and Raphtalia with no one in between them and the gate.

Ren grunted and got a hold of himself, bouncing back and swinging violently in response. It was tougher to fight in the rain as his body felt more heavier from the drenched outfit, but nevertheless, Zellus matched the attacks, blow for blow. It went on until he knocked Ren back and prepared an overhead slash. Ren went and slid between Zellus' legs as the sword crashed down and leapt to catch Zellus' back, but knowing that a stuck sword in the ground didn't mean he couldn't act, Ren was prepared to have a follow-up.

Unfortunately, he didn't think Zellus would catch Ren's sword in his _hands_.

Apparently, the electrocution injury wasn't as bad as it looked like.

"And there's your proof, Shield Hero. As long as the Sword Hero pushes his sword down, I can't act freely without taking damage for myself."

Ren grumbled as he applied more pressure.

"Naofumi, take the chance! Get out of here!"

With a stricken grief layered on his friend's expression, he held his ground for a brief second. Conflicted, he really didn't want to abandon his friend, but it was clear he wasn't doing anything helpful for Ren anymore other than making him angry. Raphtalia even looked up at him, wondering what he was going to do.

"M-Master Naofumi…? What's Mister Ren doing?"

"He'll be safe," he lied through his teeth. Raphtalia's ears were drenched as they tucked themselves in. She took one more glance at the deadlock that the swordsmen were in as Naofumi continued. "We'll meet up with him again later."

There was a feeling that gnawed at his heart.

He hated it.

Watching Ren fighting with his life and name on the line, it really made Naofumi realize how much of this feeling was settling in his heart.

The feeling of being useless.

He absolutely hated it, but it was something that belonged to him

He hated it, hated it, hated it—so very much, but it was something that dug under his skin and wore it like a puppet.

His mind sunk deeper, as he growled against himself.

'_Damn it._'

His feet felt heavy.

'_Damn it._'

They pressed on against the cold and wet ground.

'_Damn it!_'

Naofumi made his escape to the unguarded gates, running as fast as he could.

His eyes started to blur. He didn't even notice that there was a certain little notification along the side of his interface. As his vision became dark, his feet still ran, but only with a heavy heart. He couldn't hear anything else except for a certain sound.

_Thump, thump_.

He wished that was the sound of the rain pattering in his ears, but he could clearly hear the heavy, yet slow pounding of his heart crying and as if his shield had heard his silent despair, catching the tears that wouldn't fall from his eyes.

'_Ren's right. How could I even think of helping him if I can't even help myself…?_'

'_Why did I have to have a shield?_'

'_Why was I summoned into this world if I can't do a single thing?_'

'_I don't know how to fight… so why?_'

'_Why…? Just why?_'

Naofumi didn't look back.

Naofumi stopped thinking and ran.

**[Attention]  
[Curse Series Shield : Conditions have been unlocked.]**

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

"Now that the Shield Hero is gone, you should probably drop the tough guy act."

Ren persisted in his slash, struggling to push down from Zellus' clapping grasp, but what he said was truthful. The painkiller stopped working the moment Zellus gave the option for Naofumi to run. He was already out of time, but Ren still leaned forwards, fighting through the aches and agony.

"Like hell!"

"Fine then."

Zellus lifted his 'injured' palms, allowing the sword to strike towards him, but before it landed, he used his other hand to push outwards, causing the attack to be redirected. Ren fell over from the shift, crashing into a puddle formed by the rain.

Ren didn't count himself out yet. He still stood back up and turned to Zellus, but his smiles had been gone. All that was left with the extravagant knight was a monotone face, looking at the Sword Hero in both pity and amusement.

"I thought you said you couldn't move out of the way without getting hurt."

Zellus silently raised his hand, revealing that his palm had a bleeding cut along the surface. It dripped down along with the falling rain, mixing together into one as it landed onto the ground.

"Have you figured it out yet, Ren?"

"It was what you were blabbering on about at the start of the fight… You really meant it…"

"Yeah." Zellus closed his hand and glanced up into the bleak skies. "This world is plagued by the curse called _Status Magic_. The people of this world have simply grown accustomed to it, focusing everything regarding their weird physics. Some people don't bleed when they get stabbed. Some people don't break their ankles when falling from a cliff."

"Whatever you did the moment you first attacked us, that removed the Status Magic," Ren said. "That's why despite the difference in levels, both the balloon monster and Raphtalia were able to wound you, not to mention my sword."

Zellus shook his head. "Not entirely. It's rather difficult to use two sets of physics in a single world, so I simply make do with whatever my special skill gives me. If anything, the results that I get are significantly more interesting than what would have usually happened."

"So what's your deal, Zellus?" Ren asked. "Why are you doing this?"

"Like I said."

Zellus slowly walked up to Ren, but his body wouldn't move anymore. It was too tired and too painful to consider budging, while managing to stand up was a mighty feat of its own. All he could do was watch as he extended his finger and tapped Ren's forehead somewhat hard.

"It doesn't matter. Your knowledge of what I'm doing won't matter by the end of things. Circumstances have been forced into play, causing me to make calls. _This _is just one of them. I know you just said that apologies were empty, but allow me to say sorry about this entire fiasco."

His eyes started to roll back and Ren's head leaned by as the world started to blacken. Gravity felt lifeless as his body felt too light for this world to handle, but his descent was as seemingly graceful as it could be. It simply could have been the illusion that was casted from feeling like he was falling slowly, but his head soon hit the ground.

His final collective memory of the moment appeared when an odd notification screen showed up before him, but even if he was conscious, there was no way he could have read it properly. The text was too glitch for him to see the words.

**[Attention]  
[̶̮̍̍̈C̸̗̅́̉̚̕ụ̷͎̬̂̌͐̿̀r̶͓̩̫̈́̇͒̄s̷̹̮̞̮̦͐͗͊͋ē̶̞̼̜͋̐͠ ̵̮̬̑̽̓S̷̺͊̎̐͗͋e̸̩̲̻͂͝r̴͇͔̦͆͂͐͠͠į̸̹̥̫̈́̋͛̂̒e̷̮̐͝s̶͎̞̖̍̃̂͜ ̵͈̽ͅS̷͍̲͌͂̀ḧ̵̩͍̫̇̎̆̕ͅi̸̩͚̞̊̈́̋e̴̟͍͙͌͂̆̕l̴͍̐̏d̴̢̠͎͍͖̀̄ ̷̥̭̣̖̈͆ͅ:̶͇̬̟̏ ̸̺̃̋̇͛C̶̢̡̬͔͒ö̵͇͆̋̈n̵͖̪̋͂̎d̷̨̠̏̓̓͊i̴̞̜̺͊t̷̩͓̄̈́́̇͌i̷̢̩̘͉̥̇̔͑̃͘ơ̸̢̬̝̞̍̀͜n̵̨̦̭͇̳̾̆͋̓̓s̶̤̪̹̺͗̕ ̶̳̳̲͙͌̃̾͠h̴̞̤̣̓͂̍̈́͝a̷͕̒̉̆v̵̢͔̹̯̝̐̓̏͝ę̴͕̌ ̷͎̠̣͖̆̇b̷̧̥̫̊͜ë̸̥͙͚̥́̎̅e̸͓͈͛̾͐́n̷͉͎͗ ̴̧̣̫̫̑ü̵̲͎͍n̶̟̓͐͒̀l̷̡͈̐͒̋̚o̷̖̟̔́̎c̷̥̙̟͒̐́̓k̸̳̱̩̂̍̅̓̀͜ͅȩ̷̝͒̿̋̓d̴̖̫̾̐̂.̷̪̙̼̺̍̌͜]̷̡̹͖͗͂͂̆͠**

Zellus made a soothing hum as Ren's body went limp like it was a children's lullaby for a night's rest.

"_Now sleep tight, Sword Hero. You'll have your moment soon enough, but for the time being, rest your energy._"

He slowly closed his eyes.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 032 : The Victor's Analysis**

[Zellus] : "Well, that was amusing, to say the least. The Cardinal Heroes are certainly much more capable than I thought. I'd like to test out the Bow Hero and the Spear Hero one day, but I don't think I'll ever get a similar chance ever in my lifetime. I guess I should consider myself lucky to be able to experience their full attempt to fight me, even if one of them basically surrendered by the end."

[Zellus] : "If they manage to survive through the entire situation, there's no doubt that they would become great heroes for Melromarc, but they do have things they definitely need to work on."

[Zellus] : "The Shield Hero really needs strength, but not simply strength of combat, but the strength to persevere and commit to the fight at hand. He lacks confidence unless being hand-holded, or… No, it's not that he has a lack of confidence, but it feels like there's something holding him back from laying down everything on the line."

[Zellus] : "The Sword Hero, on the other hand, has that strength, but he doesn't have the proper will to protect. He's rather focused on himself and if that's the main problem, he won't be able to take on stronger enemies where he'll need the cooperation of others to be able to defeat them. For being a friend, he really has a weird way of showing it."

[Zellus] : "They both have what the other doesn't. I really think they should sit down and have a cup of coffee together someday after this entire mess blows over. That is, if their heads are kept on in the process. What do you think, Ren!?"

[Ren] : "..."

[Zellus] : "Yeah, yeah. I understand. You're unconscious, so you can't speak. Just give me a break here, it's difficult to carry a person with an electrocuted arm."

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**


	19. Chapter 1-18 : Burning Memories

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

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_When she opened her eyes, _Raphtalia heard a loud crack coming from the skies_._ She didn't know what was happening, nor did she ever recognize such a sound ever in her life. Alongside her friends, they all stopped playing their little game of tag as their attention was brought up into the clouds where the blue colour had been starting to dampen in odd colour.

Suddenly, the sky looked like it was sliced open as if a knife was brought up to its surface. The wound had been covered by crimson shade, bleeding out with substance that she couldn't quite determine properly. Whatever it made be, it sent chills down her spine and most of her friends were experiencing the same eerie atmosphere.

To iterate, _most_ of her friends.

"Whoa, what's that!?"

Her friend's voice seemed to echo off of nothing.

Keel hadn't been someone that liked to back off as easily as her other friends. Whereas they had been staring at each other, he had already taken a step towards the mysterious scenery while his dog-like ears were twitching. His eyes were almost sparkling out of curiosity.

"Uh, Keel?" Rifana reached out for their friend. "I really think that's a bad idea."

"B-Bad idea?" Keel quickly spun around in a fluster. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

Rifana pouted. "We all know you want to check it out! Don't lie!"

"And my parents said that if anything happened while we were out playing, we need to come back to the village immediately!" Raphtalia added in unconsciously. Her words and body moved before she could realize it. "It might be really dangerous!"

"But surely, it can't be _too_ dangerous! C'mon!" Keel jumped in his place and pointed to the crack in the sky. "If we don't check it out now, we might not get another chance! This is something we've never seen before!"

"No, that's dumb!" Rifana shouted. "Someone might get hurt!"

"Only if we're not careful! When there's something dangerous, we'll just run! We're quick runners!"

"I agree with Rifana, Keel!" Raphtalia said. "We have to listen to our parents and besides, Sadeena isn't here to help us out if there's any big problems!"

"Seriously? Don't tell me you two are scared! Look, who wants to come with me, raise their hand!"

As Keel pushed his arms into the sky, he quickly discovered that everyone else wasn't into the idea. He glanced back and forth, hoping that a few of the people he had in mind would have excitedly jumped at the idea, but they were failing to meet that expectation. He was becoming flustered from accidentally singling himself out.

"Fine!" Keel argued back against the small crowd. "If you don't want to come, then don't come! Easy as that! What's the worst that can happen?"

"W-Wait! Keel!"

Without a moment of hesitation, Keel had ran off into the forest. Somewhere within the decently dense forest, the crack in the sky had been dripping its contents downwards like it was blood. It was being spreaded across into more locations, but it seemed to be condensed into that single point.

"Keel, stop it!" Rifana tried crying out for their friend, but his persistence was much stronger than her influence. "Argh, he acts cool sometimes, but he's such an idiot the rest of the time! Raphtalia, can you come with me to get him?!"

"Yeah, of course!"

Raphtalia turned towards the rest of their friends.

"Everyone else, please get home quickly. We won't be gone for long."

"O-Okay."

Both Raphtalia and Rifana started running after their friend, tracing his trail he left behind. They hadn't lost him yet; he was still in their sights, but the moment he entered the forest, it would have been much tougher to track him down from this distance.

It really didn't help that Keel was one of the faster kids in their group, but thankfully, Raphtalia was faster. She managed to speed up past Rifana up ahead and close the gap.

Keel had already entered the forest and he navigated through the trees, bushes, and overgrown roots without any issue as Raphtalia made her path to stick to Keel as close as possible. She was afraid that they might have lost Rifana in their dust, but she knew that Rifana was a smart person and would have gone back to the village if she ever lost them.

She stopped hearing the footsteps behind her as she thought about it.

"Raphtalia!" she cried. "I can't keep up! Make sure you bring Keel back!"

"Yeah, I will!"

She started accelerating, knowing that there wasn't anybody she had to slow down for anymore. Jumping over the roots and dodging the trees were something of a pastime game that the faster runners of the group would play sometimes, kinda like an obstacle course race.

Of course, both Raphtalia and Keel participated in some of the matches, but this time around, she was going to win whether Keel liked it or not.

Her legs moved deftly as she caught up to her friend and jumped into him, much to his surprise.

They rolled over each other until they slowly came to a halt. Keel was struggling to break free, but Raphtalia was trying her best to have an iron grip on him. They were right next to a somewhat large ledge and she didn't want them to tussle for much longer, in case one of them accidentally fell off.

"And I even had a head start!" Keel complained. "How did you catch up so quickly!?"

"Because… I'm out… of breath…" Raphtalia gasped for air terribly hard, as sweat started to drip from her forehead. She tried to restore her breathing, but made sure that Keel wouldn't be moving anywhere. "Just… give me a second…"

"Look, we're already here!" Keel pleaded. "We might as well check it out!"

"No! I promised Rifana… that I would bring you back!"

"We can go back after we see what's up!"

"We have to… go back now!"

"C'mon, Raphtalia! Don't be a downer!"

"I just want us to be safe, Keel!"

As the two children bickered among themselves, their voices suddenly stopped. A mysterious noise reached their ears as their mindless argument died away and they were drawn to the source of the sound.

Raphtalia and Keel glanced over to the direction of the ledge, seemingly coming from below, as they both looked back at each other in confusion. She had never heard of a creature's voice like that and she couldn't even explain what it was supposed to sound like.

Raphtalia, holding her breath, stood up from keeping Keel on the ground as the two demi-humans walked closer to the edge to see what had been making the noise, but she froze when she saw what was waiting at the bottom. Even Keel looked frightened, told by the shivering tail. Her own tail was probably shaking too, but her mind was too focused at what was before her to notice.

"_W-What… What is _that?" he whispered.

Raphtalia shook her head. "_I-I… I don't know…_"

Below them, it was certainly a monster.

However, it looked like it was forming its shape as the two children spoke, breaking apart the shadowed blood stains that covered its skin and broke it all away to show what had been underneath. It had a black sheen to its rough coat and two heads, each moving with their own volition, but they were both snarling. As they scratched the ground with their claws and saliva drooled past their fangs, their eyes had all ignited simultaneously in a red light.

"T-That's definitely… a monster, right?" Raphtalia said. "But what even is that supposed to be...?"

"I've never heard about a monster with two heads before," Keel answered. "Not even in the stories that my dad told me about. I don't even think anything out of Rifana's books of the Cardinal Heroes said something about a monster like that."

The monster down below had gained its posture as the noses took a moment to sniff around. Each head looked like it was covering a different direction, but when all was done, both Raphtalia and Keel both felt a fright.

All two heads and all four red eyes had glared upwards towards the two children, telling them that they were spotted. It didn't take a renowned genius to realize that they were targeted as prey, as their fangs thristed for the small bodies.

Their howls convenged together into one shrieking sound, forcing the two children to cover their ears before their eardrums could be shattered.

"W-We... We have to leave, Keel! Quickly!"

"Y-Yeah..." Keel's prideful tone had been stripped away to nothing. "Yeah, you're right. Let's get out of here and tell your dad, Raphtalia! This monster might come to our village since its nearby!"

Raphtalia nodded as the two children dashed away, tracing back the trail that they took. The panic that was instilled within them caused the pathing to feel much further away to the outside of the forest, but she tried to remember which bushes they ran through and which roots they jumped over.

"No, wait! Raphtalia! Isn't it _that _way!?"

"Is it?"

Despite being in this forest multiple times, Raphtalia's mind was too fixated on the monster to be able to remember clearly. That alone was worth substance as something that would keep her up at night, but Keel was able to get them back on track. They probably ran faster than how quickly they entered.

Her legs were starting to become sore, but when her mind returned to the gaze that the monster gave them, all she could have thought was that the monster simply wasn't dangerous, but _deadly_ as well. They needed to return to the village as quickly as possible before the monster could get a chance to catch up.

Both of them stumbled over the obstacles in their way, but none of them were too severe that their pace would drop significantly. They kept looking out for the other, but the exit was still nowhere to be seen.

At that point, Raphtalia simply thought running straight was the best plan for them. Getting themselves out from the forest should probably be the first step and from there, they will be able to redirect themselves to the village.

"Where did that monster even come from!?" Keel gasped. "I don't ever remember seeing a monster like that in this forest before! Big Sis would have said something about it if there was!"

"I-I don't know, Keel!" She could tell that Keel was severely troubled, but Raphtalia was just as troubled as he was. "It might be weird, but it looked like that monster might have dropped from the sky!"

"Dropped from the sky...?"

Keel flinched as his feet sped up. It was still trickling behind her as she looked over her shoulder every second moment to ensure that he was still there.

"That dumb book Rifana keeps talking about! W-What was it called again!?"

"'_The Records of the Holy Weapons_'? Are you talking about that one?"

"Yeah, that one! I remember Rifana talking about something called the waves of destruction! If monsters are mysteriously coming from the skies, then it has to be the waves of destruction, right!?"

Raphtalia recalled the book for herself, as Rifana lent her a copy to read alongside her. The book served as an influence for Rifana's idolization of the Shield Hero and after reading it, she could see why. However, she would always talk about the book so openly while they were playing and most of their friends tuned out once she started expositing.

She was simply surprised that Keel was at least listening for some of the parts and retained the details.

"W-Wait," he said, "if it's the waves of destruction, then there's going to be _more_ monsters dropping out from the skies! It's not just that single one!"

Raphtalia gasped. "T-Then we _really _have to go warn my father!"

"We're running straight for your house, Raphtalia! We need to make sure everyone hears about—"

In the corner of Raphtalia's eyes, there was a dark figure moving about in between the trees, but both she could properly register it in his head, it lunged out from the shadows, narrowly missing her. She jumped out of the way, just in time, but she looked back in horror as the target was conveniently switched out for it.

Keel's sentence was cut short.

She watched, as time moved slowly, the two-headed dog monster swiping Keel down into the dirt and pressing its claws into the boy's chest.

Keel screamed in pain, trying to squirm out, but everytime he moved, he made the imprinting wound greater. Nevertheless, he was struggling to escape the iron grip that the monster had on him, as the two heads crept closer to the boy, almost drooling on the delectable treat it caught itself.

In the meanwhile, Raphtalia froze at her feet.

She couldn't move, nor was her mind thinking about anything.

She didn't know what she should do, but Keel, through his physical anguish, glared at his friend from the corner of his eye.

"Raphtalia, run away! Get help from the village!"

Her words merely escaped her breath automatically.

"_W-What...?_ What are you saying? You want me to leave you here!?"

"Just don't worry about me! My dad said it's the man's job to protect the girls, so I'll buy time for you to run away! I was the one who wanted to come here, so I won't let my friend get eaten behind me! I'll be fine, Raphtalia!"

The monster's saliva dripped from the jaws onto Keel's cheek as the monster tried to lunge its head forwards for a first bite. Keel managed to move his head out of the way, but his shoulder was locked inside with the fangs.

"Grah!"

"Keel!"

Raphtalia's legs were shaking and her breaths became erratic. She knew that Keel was lying; there was no way that he would be able to overpower something that flung him down in a single second. It was too fast for him to escape it even if he managed to somehow break out.

"I-I'll keep this monster busy, Raphtalia! Don't worry about me!"

Tears started to run down her face as her voice started to choke up.

Her friend was going to die, regardless of what he said.

She needed to do something about it.

Raphtalia looked around for a small rock and picked it up. She was planning to draw its attention and give Keel a chance to escape together with her and live, but he noticed her attempt.

"Just leave, Raphtalia! Please! I'm begging you! Get help! Warn everyone in the village!"

She couldn't find the strength to let go, only finding the broken will to drop the rock at her feet.

She simply hated how much of an idiot Keel was sometimes.

Without another word, Raphtalia ran back on course towards the village. She was sobbing silently as she tried not to think about what just happened, but whether she should grieve now or later—it was something she'll have to do eventually.

She didn't look back. She was too scared to look back towards Keel; her mind was racing, but it never took the moment to consider what exactly she had been doing.

And so, she could only hear howling as she left the forest, _closing her eyes and wishing that it had all been a nightmare._

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

Raphtalia woke up in a cold sweat.

Breathless from reliving that nightmare, tears were starting to fall from her eyes as her chest felt heavy. She felt like screaming, but her voice couldn't find the chords. She didn't want to see that scene again—she already knew that she left Keel behind and she already knew that Keel didn't return to the village, only the two-headed dog did.

Her heart tore open every time she was reminded.

"It's okay, Raphtalia. I'm here."

She felt her small body being pulled to the side and held against her master's chest. He laid down with her, holding her head as the feeling returned to her body and her breathing started to normalize.

"Don't cry," he said quietly. "Everything's alright. I'm here."

Raphtalia felt the warm embrace of her master, trying to keep that warmth by digging herself closer to his chest. With his arms wrapped around, she definitely felt more composed, but that despair had still held onto her tightly.

It had been a few days since they escaped from the capital and the Sword Hero was left behind. As she kept thinking about that day, her nightmares started to return in full capacity.

One night, it would be seeing her mother and father's death and the other, leaving her friend behind to die. She was terrified of the next night if that was what held in store for her, but she glanced up to her master that tried to reassure her fears and rubbed her head to calm her down.

Even though his words were warm and even though he truly wanted to protect her—

"_I'm here… I… won't leave you… behind..._"

—Raphtalia noticed that Naofumi's eyes were empty and wondered who actually had been the one being comforted here.

* * *

**)**—**(\**IV**| Chapter 1-18 |**IV**/)|**—**(  
)\\( Burning Memories )/(**

* * *

She only knew him for a few days until the incident in the capital occurred, but even she could tell that her master hadn't been acting the same way. Previously, he always had a smile on his face, almost being contagious in mood, and would try to keep their morale high with his optimism. It clearly couldn't erase what had happened to her in the past, but considering the attitude that her master had, her overall trauma might have been solved if he kept up.

However, that was simply a distant thought for herself as she followed her master silently, seeing that a village had been close by. His steps had been heavy, almost trying to trudge through mud that didn't exist, slowly walking towards the guard that had been standing outside of the village's gate. She even wondered if her master noticed the village coming close to proximity since all he was doing was keeping his eyes looking to the ground.

"Halt."

The guard on duty utter a single word, but her master didn't hear him despise the clear and concise command. With his head kept downwards and his shield exposed through a different weapon form, it wasn't surprising that the guard went to walk in front of the incoming pair.

"I said, '_halt_'. Didn't you hear me?"

Her master bumped into his chest in a surprise, finally getting the attention needed. A soft push was enough for Naofumi to snap out of his wandering trance and see that they've already reached the village.

"O-Oh… Uh…"

His words stumbled as he realized where he was and upon noticing the similar uniform to the capital's knights, he flinched. He struck himself in fear, but never bothered to note that despite being similar, there were too many differences from having the outfit be part of the official branch.

Raphtalia merely stayed behind her master, praying that there wasn't going to be much of an issue. If the rumors of what happened in the capital came over to this village, then it would be likely that they would arrest the two at once.

Naofumi tried not to make eye contact, glancing away.

"_I'm…. I'm sorry…_"

His mumbling was too quiet for the guard to hear anything, as he lowered his palm to get on with business. He sighed, as if it was part of the procedure, and went on with the script-like sentence structuring.

"There's a fee to enter if you're not a resident. 30 copper pieces for entry."

"A fee, huh?" Naofumi glanced at the amount of coins he had right now, but he really didn't pay attention to how much he had in total. His mind merely registered if he had enough to pay the fee or not and upon pulling out the correct amount out of thin air, he slowly handed it to the man. "Is this enough?"

The guard was more surprised and confused as to where the money came from. Accepting the bag regardless, he opened up the pouch and quickly counted the money, trying not to let that incident get to him much.

"Y-Yeah, that's enough." The guard stepped out of the way, still replaying the odd sight in his head. "Please, make way with your day and welcome to Riyute Village."

"_Thanks,_" Naofumi said, still mumbling.

He continued to walk onwards with Raphtalia trailing behind him closely. He returned to the regular trudging that he brought himself to the village with, only with a change of scenery from a landscape of fields, forests, and mountains to a surrounding of buildings and civilians.

The kids, all around Raphtalia's age, ran through the street, chasing each other in a fun game of tag. It had a bit of a nolgastic air as they ran past the small party, not even minding their existences. She remembered how she and her friends would always end up getting into trouble for its unintentional results and they would have soon moved their games over to the fields and forest.

Needless to say, she awfully missed those days. She missed running away and playing with her friends. She missed going back home and being with her mother and father. It was crazy how a month would drastically change her entire life and stripped her away from the blissful times she enjoyed with her friends and family.

Whether she wanted to or not, she had to fight against monsters and survive alongside the Shield Hero.

Her stomach suddenly growled, causing her master to stop in his tracks and turn around. Despite not paying much attention to his surroundings, that simply little grumbling was something that her master didn't need any nudging on.

"Are you hungry?"

"Y-Yes, I am…" she nodded, holding onto her stomach timidly. It was a simple question from him, yet Raphtalia saw all types of emotions holding the three words back.

Whenever she was hungry, her master would pull them to the side whenever possible and started to cook up a meal for them. There wasn't much that he could make in the wilderness, merely depending on finding vegetables and fishes, but she felt a bit guilty about eating more than him. He would always insist that he wasn't hungry and provided more for her, but she highly doubted he wouldn't be hungry off of bits and scraps for a few days. Most of the protein would have been handed off to her hands.

Naofumi looked around for a nearby restaurant that they could duck into and luckily found one within their sights. It wasn't too far away, but if he had looked with a bit much haste, he could have mistaken it for simply another home.

"Then let's get you some food, Raphtalia."

He walked in and sat at an empty table while Raphtalia took the seat beside him.

The restaurant itself didn't look too busy, but everyone was still minding their own business, keeping quiet in their own conversations if they had anyone to speak to. Otherwise, they were simply enjoying their meals in solitary peace.

Raphtalia saw that there was a family of four nearby. The younger child was eating a meal that had a flag on it and was treated with multiple portions of food, ranging from potatoes to meat with some pudding on the side, all fit and appealing for growing children of their age. Her mouth almost watered at seeing the collected appearance of the meal, trying to keep her stomach from yearning from such a dream.

A waitress walked up to the two and provided them with some water, presuming that they were buying something. As she placed the glass down before them, she asked for their orders.

Her master looked at her, as if he was letting her choose what to pick from the menu, but she didn't want to be so self-centered. After the master and slave sat quietly for a moment, the waiter thought aloud that she'll come back once they finally decided on what they wanted, but Naofumi opened his voice before she left.

"I'll have the cheapest meal you have here," he said rather lifelessly before he briefly glanced at Raphtalia. "She will have whatever that kid is having."

He pointed to the kid that she was envious of, causing the girl to hold her breath in surprise. She didn't realize that Naofumi noticed her yearning for that meal.

It took a few minutes for the waiter to return with the two requested meals and Raphtalia never thought a plate had looked so filling before in her life. Even with the spoon and fork right next to the plate, she just wanted to dig down and stuff it all in her mouth, but she kept looking over to what was brought to her master.

If she didn't know any better, it looked like she had the master's plate while the real master had the slave's plate. It was essentially plain, baring only a few strips of bacon, nestled with some vegetables on the side.

"M-Master Naofumi…? Is that really all you're eating?"

"This is fine. I'm not that hungry anyways."

Her master, for what felt like the hundredth time in a row, said it again.

He took his fork and pushed the cherry tomatoes around his plate for a bit before he softly stabbed the prongs into the skin. He ate the vegetable, but he didn't show any type of enjoyment from eating the meal. He treated it more of a low-quality but essential need rather than something that gives a person energy to work everyday.

She knew he was in a downed mood, but she didn't know how to help him to be happy again.

He was such a cheerful person before.

In an attempt, she took her fork and stabbed it into a slice of meat, bringing it over to her master. The technique involved with the fork had been messy, but it stuck on and did the job. Naofumi merely glanced over without turning his head as his fork was held against a piece of bacon.

"Raphtalia, what are you doing?"

"Y-You haven't been eating much lately…"

"Are you worried? Well, I told you that it's fine." He pushed the meat away from his mouth and brought up his own bacon. "Everything tastes bland anyways, so it doesn't matter what I eat. I just need enough food to be able to do my job and protect you. _Maybe then, I'll be able to…_"

Her master's words trailed off into obscurity as he bit down on his food.

As Raphtalia ate the meat that was reserved for him, she couldn't help but to feel like there was a bitter taste to what she thought was a delicious meal moments ago.

* * *

**)—|(\IV/)|—(**

* * *

_Before she realized it_, her feet had taken her back to the village and yet, the sweat that dripped from her forehead had been cold. Nevertheless, she needed to find someone that could run out there quickly and help Keel. She prayed that he wasn't going to die, despite the hopeless situation that she was forced to see. She knew that there were still a handful of people that had combat experience other than Sadeena, but most of them were hunters who had gone with the demi-human on a fishing trip.

Raphtalia was simply left, trying to remember which hunters didn't leave alongside the strongest hunter in their village.

As she came closer to the village's center, she could see the crowded gathering within the public streets as murmurs and concerns ruptured from their voices. Everyone had been on the edge of their seats, trying to make head or tails upon the situation. Her neighbours must have seen a ghost or something since their faces were the palest she ever seen, but if it was simply a ghost-sighting, she would have considered that to be lucky.

"Everyone, listen up!"

Her attention, alongside everyone else's, had been drawn towards the center of the crowd where a person stood up on a higher stage for all to see him. Raphtalia immediately recognized that man to be her father.

"I've just returned from meeting with Lord Seaetto!" he exclaimed. "From what he believes, the cracks in the skies are spilling out monsters like we've never seen before. He can't explain the reasoning clearly, but he determined this to be the beginning of the waves of destruction!"

There were more murmurs to be heard from the crowd, mostly those of fear and anxiety. The waves of destruction, as per its name, were a dangerous prophecy and they haven't heard anything about the summoning of the Cardinal Heroes yet. Hope suddenly looked bleak.

"Lord Seaetto has issued an evacuation of the nearby territory of Lord Strathmore and we've sent a request for the Melromarcian Knights for assistance! We are to leave immediately before the monsters begin to swarm our village!"

"Is the Lord going to help provide support!?"

"He mentioned that he would be here as soon as possible!" her father said, answering the question of a villager. "All we have temporarily are instructions to flee!"

"What if we're going to do if someone gets caught out!?"

"Yeah, our strongest hunters are out in sea right now and there's no way to contact them! Especially with that big storm in the way!"

"I don't want to die here!"

Despite trying to control the crowd, they were quickly devolving into mass hysteria. Her father couldn't be angry since that was a reasonable reaction to this ordeal, but he was starting to get frightened for his peers' lives if they couldn't move on to the evacuation location quickly. They might lose more than their materialistic objects if they loitered here.

"Listen to me! The monsters can approach at any time! We have to start—!"

As if on command, there had been an empty, yet heavy sound emerging from one of the village's entry paths. It was a metallic marching that stole away the spotlight from Raphtalia's father as the backdrop revealed that the skies were getting intense in colour. From what originated as a simple crack turned into swirls of crimson, as if it was demanding for blood as red as its surface.

"W-What… What _is that_?"

Clearly, it had been a monster. However, the problem came with what type of monster it was.

Just like with the two-headed dog monster, it was nothing Raphtalia has ever heard about before and judging from the reactions of the older villagers, they didn't know anything about it either.

Without its distinct feature, they could have mistaken the monster as a knight or an adventurer. Armoured chestplating with a steel helmet while equipped with a sword, grasped a bit loosely in their hand—the monster had stumbled while dragging its feet towards the targeted victims.

The distinct feature that sent everyone in a frenzy, however, had been the fact that underneath the armour, there was no skin nor muscle to see. It was merely the skeleton of a person, lighting up the eye sockets with a red glow.

The villagers screamed and they ran, while some drew out their weapons to let the others run.

"Everyone! Change of plans! Since they're already here, it's too dangerous to go to Lord Strathmore's territory! Head to the port and take the boats to stay out at sea! There may be a storm out there, but it's much safer than the land! Everyone who can fight, help delay these monsters!"

Raphtalia froze in her place, falling over from her fears as the skeleton monster proceeded to come closer. Seeing that the target was a little child, unable to defend herself, the monster raised its sword to slash down on the meaningless bloodshed.

"I command the roots of power! Light, come and slay my enemies before me! Faust Holy!"

A sparkling light flew towards the monster and shattered it into a bone pile. She heard footsteps coming from behind her as she turned around to see her father running up to hug her. He could feel his heart pumping out of his own anxiety as well.

"Thanks goodness, you're safe, Raphtalia!" Her father quickly pulled her to her feet and quickly scanned her for injuries. "I thought I told you to come back to the village if anything happened out there!"

"I-I wanted to, b-but…"

"Dear, the monsters!"

A hatchet flew from their sides and struck another incoming skeleton monster as Raphtalia's mother caught up with the father and daughter. Meanwhile, the monster's friends were starting to invade the village with their numbers and despite each one being taken down so easily, it becomes difficult when overwhelmed.

"Thanks, honey. But never mind that, Raphtalia." Her father guided her to behind them, acting as the barrier between the incoming monsters and her. "We'll save that for another time. For now, you need to find safety."

"Daddy, what about you!?"

"I'm going to stay behind and buy time for everyone."

The numbers were still vastly outweighed, but before Raphtalia could have another moment to say anything about it, her mother was pulling her back. The thought of Keel being left behind was reestablishing in her mind, not being able to explain her late arrival properly.

"N-No… I-I… I don't want to…"

And yet, the words were coming out by themselves.

"It's only going to be a short amount of time. A group of Melromarcian Knights were sighted deeper into Lord Strathmore's territory and we had a messenger ride over there quickly to ask for help. They'll be here soon, much sooner if they notice the skies' different colouring here."

The army of monsters started to increase dramatically, lunging attacks at the other villagers who were trying to fight back.

"Damn these monsters!"

"There's too many of them!"

"We can't hold on safely for much longer!"

Her father glanced backwards and clicked his tongue, raising his hands for another magic casting.

"I command the roots of power! Light, come and slay my enemies before me! Faust Holy!"

By the time the magic spell was unleashed and destroyed a monster, at least two more took its fallen place. Her father would have wanted to swear under his breath, but that was unbefitting as a role model of his daughter. Regardless, it was obvious that they couldn't keep this up for much longer.

There were already people getting swarmed and dying before his eyes as his wife held their daughter to stop her from seeing the gruesome deaths.

"Fall back, everyone! Stand as the vanguard for the others and don't let them pass you! Keep moving backwards though!"

Raphtalia's mother brought her up into her arms, keeping her head close to her chest. They started retreating to the backside of the village as he noticed her father had been following at a distance with his head turning back every so often.

He would fire out a magic spell to keep the skeletons at bay for the moment before continuing his run.

"Keep moving!"

"Grah!"

"D-Damn it!"

Their numbers were dropping, whereas the opposing numbers couldn't even be counted. Fallen voices went silent as they were followed with slumps and the blunt stabs of swords into flesh. Raphtalia couldn't recognize that sound, but she felt like she didn't want to learn what it truly was.

However, Raphtalia wanted to check if her father was still trailing behind them.

They made it out to a place nearby the backside entrance, but when the first stretch of their escape had looked almost complete, a familiar howling emerged from their rear. Her mother instinctively looked back as did she, realizing that the familiar howling wasn't the only familiar thing in Raphtalia's mind.

There was another dog monster in a similar appearance to the one that took down Keel, but the difference had been an extra head and a significant size increase. This monster must have been its leader of the pack and judging from the blood on its claws, it had already found victims before confronting the rag-tagged vanguard.

"What the _hell _is that!?"

"Whatever happens, don't lose focus!"

However, the beast was a stark difference from the movements of the skeletons. It even plowed right through its own allies to get to the fighting villagers, lunging for the ones in the path. Both her father and another villager narrowly avoided the initial strike, but a swinging claw attack quickly followed them, striking both of them away.

"C-Crap…! I-It's fast!"

Crashing onto the ground, Raphtalia watched in horror as her father sprawled on the ground. He luckily had the luxury of doing that, but it came at the cost of the other villager immediately dying at the bite of their neck.

His shoulder was bleeding badly alongside the wound sustained from his forehead, but he managed to get on his feet and continued their escape. He silently, yet painfully, thanked his neighbour's spirit, though it probably wasn't an intentional thing to let it happen to him.

"At this rate, we won't be able to get to the port town at all," her father said, catching up with his family. "We'll have to jump into the sea and swim over. There's a cliff with a safe area to land in near the rear side; we can use that."

"Daddy, your shoulder…"

"I'll be fine, Raphtalia. Don't worry about me. I just need you to be safe."

"B-But… I'm scared." Her face had been pale. "Are we going to be alright?"

"Yes, it's going to be alright," her mother answered softly, rubbing her head. There was no sign of fear in her voice. "Just keep your head down with me, sweetie. We'll get through this together."

"Come, we're leaving."

Her mother led the way as per the previous formation, heavily stepping through the fields as the chaos reminded them of its existence through sound aloud. Raphtalia couldn't determine how much screaming there was, but it was enough to keep her shivering in dread.

Some of the villagers were being flanked by other skeletons in the distance, meaning that their path was cut off, regardless of the outcome of what happened in the village. There were bodies, lying about lifelessly as Raphtalia's mother tried to avert her daughter's gaze, but it was too late.

She had already seen and she had already feared.

One of those bodies had been the neighbour she would always greet in the morning, but he was simply on the ground, cold and limp in the puddle of his own blood. Her body tensed up, as her mother felt the terror building up in her daughter.

Some of the other surviving villagers realized that getting to the port town was going to be impossible by land, so they jumped off the cliff and into the water below. The skeletons weren't following them, but the new challenges were faced with the strong currents. It was as if fate was trying to kill off as many people as possible, drowning them by pushing them further out to the sea.

Meanwhile, the three-headed dog was rushing down the fields and noticed that the villagers were descending off the side. Her father flinched in pain, but knowing what it was intending on doing, he still extended his arms outwards.

"I command the roots of power! Light, come and slay my enemies before me! Faust Holy!"

He kept firing spell after spell, walking away from his family to bait it into his direction, but it showed no point of stopping in its tracks. It leapt over the side of the cliff, crushing a jumping villager in the process and landed in the water.

It started to catch the fleeing villagers in its jaws, biting off enough to dye the water in a crimson tone, as bodies without certain limbs or parts started to surface and were taken away in the current.

"N-No…!" her father screamed as his face whitened. "Damn it, it's going for them!"

Once the nearby villagers in its proximity were gone, it flung itself out from the water and travelled high into the air to cover the cliff's height before it landed back on the ground, shaking its fur to dry it from the bloody water. It turned its face around, growling in a smirk.

It had fresh, new targets.

Three of them.

Considering the option they had, or rather, the _lack_ of options, her father quickly turned to her mother.

"It's focused on us," he said. "We have to deal with the monster here and at least delay it from killing anymore of the villagers until the knights could get here. Worse case scenario…"

Raphtalia's mother sighed heavily, stealing a glance at the scared child in her arms.

"... I know."

"It's the best thing we can do here. I'm sorry."

She placed Raphtalia down on her feet, letting her stand by herself. She looked at her parents in confusion, but she was shaking, trying the damndest to believe that they would make it out together. Her mother knelt down and rubbed the back of her head, pulling her closer for a kiss on the forehead, something she didn't expect from this bleak moment.

"Raphtalia? Can you promise me something?"

"H-Huh…?"

"Promise me that you'll be a good child. Promise me that you'll keep smiling and be nice to others. Help them out when they're in need and offer them your hand whenever they need one."

Her mother was crying underneath that pained expression.

There was an uneasy feeling building up in Raphtalia.

"M-Mommy, what are you saying?"

"Things might get difficult for you for a bit, Raphtalia." Her father backed up and quickly embraced her in his arms before letting her go. "Don't forget to look after yourself as well and make sure that you won't die. You might even need to make tough decisions too, but know that we want you to keep living on."

"I-I don't understand…"

From how they were speaking, Raphtalia thought that this was the last time that she would see them, but seeing the bittersweet expressions on their face, she couldn't help herself to cry out in emerging tears. Her heart was pounding as her voice was croaking through the torment.

"Mommy, Daddy! P-Please don't leave me!"

Her mother and father placed their hands on her shoulders, giving her one final smile to try and calm her down. However, her mother couldn't help but to cry, seeing the pleading reaction of her beloved daughter.

"_Hold your breath, Raphtalia_. _We love you._"

With the final words from her father, they pushed Raphtalia off the cliff as they turned away to face the three-headed dog monster. Blood suddenly spurted over the edge as she didn't know what she was seeing, though it was a probable belief that she refused to believe.

Her body splashed into the blood-drenched water as the current proceeded to sweep her away into the sea. It moved and kicked about for survival, but her mind began to black out. The mental stress had been accumulating and she really wanted to let out, but the pain wouldn't let her.

The moment she surfaced from the water, _she let out a scream, wishing it was all a nightmare._

* * *

**)—|(\IV/)|—(**

* * *

Raphtalia woke up in the middle of the night, gasping for air as if she had been drowning moments before. Her heart had been racing and her voice felt parched. She must have been screaming again during her sleep and she instinctively whimpered, anticipating the brutal lashing that would have come from back when she was badly treated, but her hand had some resistance to it.

Her master had been holding her hand as the two slept in the same bed.

She looked over, knowing that she must have been screaming, but she was surprised that she didn't wake up her master in the process, but she noticed that he himself was squirming around in his dormant state.

Now that she thought about it, this was probably the first time she noticed her master _actually sleeping_ throughout the last few days, but to say that he looked uncomfortable while doing so was an understatement.

Naofumi looked like he was being tormented in his dreams. His breaths were ragged and his body had been trembling. Cold sweat dripped down from his forehead as she felt the grip on his small hand get slightly tighter as the seconds went by.

He wasn't screaming like she was, but Raphtalia could see that he too had been experiencing nightmares.

"_R-Ren… Motoyasu… Itsuki… I-I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… I couldn't do anything…_"

His hand clenched tighter.

"_I _can't _do anything…_"

With the mumbling escaping the fabricated landscape and into the real world, she wondered what the nightmares were all about, ones that could give the Shield Hero discomfort in his sleep.

* * *

**)—|(\IV/)|—(**

* * *

The castle hallways were filled with a grim ambience, but it was either that, accompanied with the clanks of walking against the tiling, or it was the small mutters from the castle staff that wouldn't relent ever since the ruckus in the capital a few days ago. It wasn't too believable that rumors would start to spread concerning what happened, but Zellus tried to not get too involved with it.

Rumors were awfully terrible to deal with and he was just finished with dealing with a headache.

"Man, this is _way_ more paperwork I had to fill out than I thought…"

Zellus groaned as he glanced at the handful of reports he had to manually write in. Apparently, Lothringen didn't appreciate the fact that he caused "more-than-needed" damages to the buildings and streets and needed to stack more of a punishment on him.

Though, it could have been quicker if Zellus stopped skipping out on proceeding with his report and procrastinated by hanging out in the barracks, but that was probably the only reason why the captain allowed multiple days to submit the documents rather than the typical twenty-four hours.

Nevertheless, Zellus literally took up to the last minute to rush everything down on the papers. He was trying to get this to Lothringen's office as quickly as possible, but from a spectator's perspective, it wouldn't have seemed like that from his casual stroll through the halls. He had one hand holding the apparent delivery and the other had been resting in a pocket.

His other hand wasn't allowed to have much stress on it since he did take a partial mitigation of Lothringen's skill. If his pain tolerance wasn't high, he definitely would have dropped the moment he received the attack.

The nurses told him that it'll be about a month until he'll be back in good enough shape to be able to use the hand again, but what they really meant was a week. They knew he wouldn't like following their instructions, so they lied and gave a bigger number.

Anyways, the hallways were looking pretty empty today.

There must have been some sort of castle staff meeting that Zellus wasn't aware about, not that he should be aware of it in the first place. Regardless, it made the walk down to his destination less energetic than usual.

However, he walked past the garden to see a familiar face, sitting down on the bench. His wrinkly nose was plunging itself into his own documents as the extravagant knight decided to stop by and say his greetings for the morning.

From the frowning of the old man, he knew that the patron was thinking seriously, but that didn't stop him from raising his voice in a whimsical manner.

"Oi, Aldrecht! What are you doing here!?" Zellus asked enthusiastically. "Usually you'd be crammed in your personal quarters when you're trying to read something!"

The old man sighed before glancing over to the knight momentarily before he returned to his papers. A sour groan might have sufficed for the time being, but what Aldrecht was feeling over the last few days couldn't be summed up as a single noise.

"I'm simply trying to not have a headache over this dilemma. The king suggested that fresh air might help me calm down as he noticed that I was beginning to become unnerved." Another heavy sigh came from him. "If only the king had his head on like this when the Shield Hero's trial came about, my life would have been slightly easier. Not by much, but any amount of stress reduced from my life would help."

"You know, when the old thronesitter said to get some fresh air, I think he meant a simple _stroll_," Zellus said, smirking. "By that, he was trying to tell you to leave the case for a moment and come back when your head has cooled down."

"I know that," Aldrecht responded, flipping the page, "but time wasted on things like 'relaxing' is time lost on things that can be treated trivially. I'm simply trying to read the reports that Lothringen has presented. However, a part of it is missing."

Zellus quickly glanced at his own reports, as did Aldrecht.

The knight silently handed the papers over to the old man who graciously took it from his grasp. He knew that it was just as good to give them to Aldrecht and if the captain ever asked, he could point to the old man and tell him that he passed it on to him.

"So what you needed to write up was the report concerning the Sword Hero and the Shield Hero." Aldrecht neatly stacked them into the papers in the apparent order before flipping over to the new pages. "I was surprised to discover that Lothringen allowed you to cover the situation surrounding this incident, but not as surprised as I was when the Sword Hero was taken into the dungeon, unconscious."

"Yeah, I gave out as many details as I could in my report."

Aldrecht started to read through Zellus' handwriting.

His handwriting would oddly fluctuate between styles constantly. Sometimes, it would be messy and the other times, they would be in cursive, as if written by an expert cartographer. However, Zellus appeared to have chosen the style that basically replicated Lothringen's handwriting, which made things easier for consistency.

As a brief summary, the report was broken up into multiple sections, but what Aldrecht was most interested in was the results that were formed from the arrest on Zellus' end. There wasn't much on the subject from the current documents since Lothringen was not present for the entirety of the arrest; the most interaction he had with the Sword Hero after departing was to check up on him within the prisons, where he had been still unconscious.

Aldrecht knew that the relation between the kingdom and the Sword Hero will definitely be strained after he wakes up and to some extent, the relation with the rest of the heroes will falter, if what the Spear Hero told him about the relations between the heroes were true. He already suspected that the Sword Hero and the Bow Hero were already suspicious of their 'actions' when the trial of the Shield Hero resulted in a guilty charge and if it weren't for Zellus' involvement, they probably would have lost them entirely.

Reports from the knights within the non-present heroes' parties told him that the rest of the heroes were currently outside of the capital, being at least a day away from travelling. It wasn't much, but it was certainly good enough to help limit the news that the Sword Hero has been captured to the ears of the Spear Hero and the Bow Hero. Rumours spread quickly in the capital, not so much between towns.

Adversely, he had already sent a few shadows to watch over the Shield Hero to ensure that he avoided any possible contact with the other heroes.

Though, much of this precautionary measure could have been lifted if they were able to let the Sword Hero acknowledge that they were truly on their side. He suspected that there must have been another reason as to why he had apparently 'broken in' the Church of Three Heroes. In truth, he doubted that the incident went the way that the Holy Knights said it did, but he needed to have a peaceful talk with him to get his side of the story and try to offer his help.

However—

"Approximately one to two weeks of unconsciousness!?"

That was Zellus' given estimate written on the report.

To say that a vein appeared on his forehead was an understatement since that threw everything he wanted to do into a mess.

"What did you do to him, Zellus!?"

"Hey, I didn't do much. _He _did that to himself," he pouted, surrendering his hands up. "He overworked himself in the fight and before I could notice it, I already managed to knock him out cold for a while. Considering how much experience I have in combat-related injuries, that was my guess as to how long the Sword Hero will be down for."

Aldrecht groaned reluctantly. "I suppose when it comes to combat, you would be the most knowledgeable."

"And that's why Lothringen won't hesitate to account for that when he sees it."

"Then that may be a slight issue." Aldrecht shook his head. "We will have to somehow hide this matter from the other heroes, obviously excluding the Shield Hero, for at least a few more days. Taking into account that they are simply on guild requests, they will certainly be returning sometime within that interval."

"Yeah, Lothringen wants to hold a trial for him concerning the break-in and there's no way around making that a big deal. That's the only reason I implemented that detail in."

There was no possibility to have the trial delayed arbitrarily if the heroes are in the capital. That was simply how Lothringen functioned and he would doubt as to why Aldrecht would want to delay the trial until the heroes were gone. As someone who didn't see the bigger battlefield in place, it was better to keep him in the dark.

"I'll see how long our undercover knights can delay the heroes. I hope they can push them away for about two weeks, but realistically, I can only foresee one. I assume that the Shield Hero, on the other hand, will not be returning to the capital in the near future. In Lothringen's reports, it was mentioned that he managed to escape." Aldrecht flipped over to the previous page, noting Zellus' own recount of the runaway. "I thought you were better than that, Zellus."

"Hey, the Sword Hero was better than I thought," Zellus sighed, crossing his arms in frustration. "The guy knew how to make a good distraction and before I realized it, there was too much distance between me and the Shield Hero to cover. I simply made an executive decision and focused on the one that was the suspect. Really, I feel like the Shield Hero just got caught up."

"I believe so too, but the Shield Hero being watched in close proximity is much better than him roaming the land. It would have been easier for all of us."

"Well, sorry." Zellus scratched the back of his head, feeling like he was being reprimanded. "There wasn't much I could do about it. He pulled out a trick I've never seen before and it successfully worked. It's amazing what type of mindsets are developed from other worlds."

"Yes, about that." Aldrecht squinted at the words, depicting the fight in detail. "You were rather vague about that trick in your report. Is there a reason for that?"

"It is?" Zellus raised his eyebrow as he peeked over Aldrecht's shoulder. "Ah, so it is. I must have gotten really tired at that point while writing, but it doesn't matter much." He subsequently shrugged. "It won't matter in the full perspective of things and if Lothringen wants me to write up a follow-up report on one trivial detail, I'll just slap together some words and hand it in."

"I don't think Lothringen will ask you for that."

Zellus laughed heartily. "Then that's less work for me!"

Aldrecht wondered how he was roped into this silent war with his comrade being this odd knight. If it had been Lothringen that was taking Zellus' place, he would probably be much more efficient while being less unpredictable and loud. However, having Lothringen himself included in the plans against the Church came with their own set of problems that made the fight basically impossible to win.

That's why, despite Zellus' demeanour, he might have been the best match for the job that he was given by Aldrecht. The old man simply wished for him to at least take things more seriously outside of combat related issues. More progress would have been guaranteed if so.

Aldrecht sighed, closing up the reports and handing all of them over to Zellus.

"Please take these to Lothringen for a final inspection. They haven't been recorded into Noches' logbook as of yet since he was waiting on you for a completed addition."

"Aye, aye. Whatever you say," Zellus said as he took the papers, grasping firmly in his hand. He flipped through it himself to check everything, though Aldrecht doubted that he was sincerely interested in the information. It was probably for a visually-appealing action.

"And by the way," Aldrecht added, "you should keep personal results out of the kingdom's official reports. I don't believe Lothringen will be pleased that you included the two daggers you lost during the engagement in detail, especially if one of them was a conscious decision to lose."

"Aren't we supposed to include casualties in our reports?" Zellus jested.

"They are simply weapons, Zellus. Unless they belong to the armoury to ensure inventory counting, you do not add results like that into your reports. All of your weapons are either custom-made by yourself or taken from enemies in fights, correct? Then those do not count."

"_Ugh_, fine." Zellus slumped his shoulders. "I just wanted some compensation for them since I lost them during an operation. The materials for one of them in particular is difficult to buy and more difficult to make. It's honestly easier for me to head to Zeltoble myself to hunt for a good amount of the ore, but considering the current situation, I don't really have the liberty."

"I suppose it was the one that wasn't used as a consumable for a fire spell."

"Yeah, it was the other one. It was covered in a black sheen," Zellus said, turning around and preparing to leave. "That one was the one that needed the difficult materials. I must have dropped it somewhere."

"Someone else must have taken it, that's all. You claim your weapons to be strong, so it would make sense for a random adventurer to stumble upon it and take it for themselves. Just use one of the daggers you made for the armoury as a replacement."

"It's actually stronger in different ways. Most people would probably treat it like trash because they don't know how it functions," Zellus chuckled. "It's meant to bring out your full potential in a high-risk situation. It makes things more exciting when getting that clutch power-up, right? Comes right out of a show!"

Aldrecht shook his head. "It's rather mysterious at the things you refer to, but I don't know what type of language they use in Zeltoble. Must be that origin of yours."

"M-Must be!"

Slightly stammering, Zellus started to walk away, leaving Aldrecht with a deep breath as he glanced up into the bright blue skies. Aldrecht merely wanted his elder years to be less filled with nuisances and be as clear as the skies were at this moment, but alas, the universe had other plans for him. Trudging on one step at a step within the darkness that could consume all of his work in a matter of seconds, Aldrecht simply wanted for all of this to be over.

"Mysterious, huh? _But really, the real mystery here…_"

Zellus mumbled to him as he left the garden, as the image of the masked man reflected off his mind, shimmering in the flames of the Church's library. Their fight was much more violent, but during the midst of the climax, he could remember the confusion on his own face as the man spoke of his intentions. Whether they were true or not was another factor, but it was certainly a surprise to hear about it, but at the same time, it wasn't.

It was through that confusion that the masked man managed to escape with his life, not because he caught the knight off guard, but because the knight was oddly curious as to what was going to ensue.

In other words, another piece has entered the battlefield, cloaked in shadows. From what he felt from that fight, he was being leashed by an external force, not the Church nor the Royal Family, despite working with the latter for the time being. As theories crept up in his mind, he couldn't help to wonder.

That man wanted to trigger the curse series, not to mention that he knew of them in the first place.

And yet, he was fine with killing the Sword Hero too.

His motives aligned with the Church that he would work alongside them, but he didn't hesitate to hinder their own knights.

His actions didn't make sense and the pieces hadn't been there yet.

"—_what's your game here?_"

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 033 : Heavy Silence**

[Naofumi] : "..."

[Raphtalia] : "…"

[Naofumi] : "..."

[Raphtalia] : "…"

[Naofumi] : "..."

[Raphtalia] : "... Master Naofumi?"

[Naofumi] : "Anything you need, Raphtalia?"

[Raphtalia] : "Are you… really okay?"

[Naofumi] : "I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I just want to keep you safe for now."

[Raphtalia] : "I-I see..."

[Raphtalia] : "…"

[Naofumi] : "..."

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**


	20. Chapter 1-19 : Face The Fear

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

"With 30 coppers a vial, I can give you a silver piece and 50 coppers for your medicine."

Naofumi felt like that was rather low, but he didn't have much of a comparison to entrust in his head. He only had the prices of materials that the some merchants bought from him from the capital, but he wondered if 30 coppers was what Erhart had offered to him for the monster parts he brought to him.

Regardless, Naofumi couldn't grasp an exact price, leering over to his five vials of medicine he made using the recipes unlocked from some shields. They were supposed to be made for Raphtalia, but she was starting to get better from her coughing. There was more than he remembered being in the inventory, so he simply decided to sell a handful of them for some extra pocket cash.

It wasn't as if he could complain about the shopkeeper buying his medicine.

He simply overheard that there was a lack of medicine within Riyute Village so it only felt like reasonable time to sell them. Though, if they were buying low for his medicine, they probably just meant that his stuff wasn't good enough to be considered as valuable. He doubted even selling them at all, but there had also been the chance they were trying to lowball his items for a higher profit.

"That's fine. I'll take the money."

However, Naofumi couldn't find the energy to barter with the shopkeeper. A few more copper pieces wasn't going to do much for him and frankly, he didn't think Raphtalia needed _all_ of that medicine he previously made. There was still a week's worth of medicine still in his possession, mostly all made during the first few days after he bought Raphtalia.

After the incident with Ren though, he couldn't find the will to even make more than two per day.

It wasn't as if the money he made here was going to be revolutionary to their wallet anyways.

"Pleasure doing business," the shopkeeper said, passing the coins over the counter without a pouch. It made it easier to count out since the bronze pieces were stacked by the tens, but Naofumi quickly shoved them all into his inventory, not even looking to see if they were even the right colour.

Raphtalia had been looking around the small store, trying not to be in the way of her master's business with the shopkeeper. There were a lot of knick knacks that were being sold that looked like they could be helpful to passing adventurers, but there were also random things like snacks and toys off to the side.

There was a particular ball that caught her attention, made out of similar materials as what the balloon monsters would drop in their corpses.

"Raphtalia, we're going."

She was startled by the call, but quickly turned around to follow her master's quiet exit.

"Hold on a minute, boy."

Before Naofumi could leave through the door with his hand on the handle, he peered over his shoulder, glancing at the shopkeeper. As he placed the medicine aside on the counter, their eyes met for a brief moment before Naofumi instinctively looked away.

"You're an adventurer, right?"

"Does it matter if I am one or not?"

"Technically not, but I haven't seen your face around these parts before, so I'm assuming you're new here. Are you here on any requests sent from the village chief?"

"No, I'm just travelling around."

"Well, that makes things easier. Considering you're selling a small amount of medicine, you're probably scampering around your own wares, trying to get some money into your 's a job you can do if you're in need and it'll help out the village a bit, if you want to hear it. You're not obligated either, it's just something nice to keep in mind while you're hanging around Riyute Village."

Naofumi didn't have anything to lose by hearing out the man, but he doubted he could do much if it's anything big.

"What's the job?"

"It's a mining gig, nothing too out of the ordinary. We have a mineshaft just past the outskirts of Riyute Village that has some good ores inside of it. You can grab some and sell over to me. I'll be able to fetch you some prices for them."

There wasn't much of a plan to accept it, but he realized that the job was much easier than he expected. This would have been a good opportunity to be of use to someone while making some profits on the side. That little voice reiterated his usefulness to the village in his head, but after giving it some little thought, he realized that it felt _too_ easy.

"If it's a mineshaft relatively close by, why would it be fetching a good price if it's easy to get access to them?"

"We were able to easily get the ores in the past, but after the announcement that the waves of destruction had happened, we noticed that monsters started to nest within the mineshaft, making it much more difficult for the average person to waltz in and grab the goods."

"And you want me to help out?"

"That would be nice. There were a few other adventurers that came through recently, but they were all busy on guild requests. They simply used the village to rest and setted off the next morning."

Nzofumi didn't have other plans in mind anyways.

"... I'll help out."

"That's great," the shopkeeper nodded. "You'll have to provide your own pickaxe though. I remember that there were some stored in those storage sheds near the entrance. Be careful out there."

"... Thanks."

After his response, Naofumi closed the door after Raphtalia walked through, shutting it tight.

* * *

**)**—**(\**IV**| Chapter 1-19 |**IV**/)|**—**(  
)\\( Face The Fear )/(**

* * *

He opened up the map to see that the mineshaft that the shopkeeper was talking about was slightly further out than Naofumi expected. It was still within a reasonable distance and they didn't encounter any sudden attacks from monsters on the way over there. He should consider that lucky, but they hadn't even come close to the place where he was advised to be careful.

It took about thirty minutes for the two to catch the mineshaft's entrance in their sight and like the shopkeeper mentioned, there were buildings that looked slightly scuffed and had scratches all over the wooden exterior. Minecarts were flipped over from their tracks while the tracks themselves looked like they were crushed underneath weight. Either a fight must have broken out here or the monsters were simply marking their territory, but regardless, Naofumi walked into the area without hesitation.

One of the buildings was locked, but on the side, there was a gaping hole that Naofumi could fit through and he stepped inside, hoping that the pickaxes were somewhere there. It looked like he stumbled upon a break room, looking like a lounge, so he persisted in his hunt, keeping Raphtalia close by.

The next room looked promising, some of it consisting of safety equipment, though it was much less modern than what he was used to seeing from his world. He dug deeper into the room, discovering that there were a set of tools in the corner and a surplus of what the doctor ordered.

There were collections of pickaxes laying on top of each other in the corner of the room and Naofumi picked one up, making sure that the shield wasn't going to zap him over it. He swung it a few times to intimitate mining and after figuring out that the shield is allowing him to use it, he quickly stashed the pickaxe into the inventory.

"Huh?"

His shield was reacting to the pickaxe as he brought it close, just like how it would react when a shield could be unlocked from material. A bit curious as to the reason, he allowed the shield to absorb instead.

**[Pickaxe Shield] 0/20 C  
(Equip Bonus) : Mining 1  
(Mastery Level) : 0  
(Item Enhancement) : LV0**

Noticing that the bonus gave him mining efficiency, he decided to equip the shield's new form. Though, he couldn't quite remember the difference between a special effect and an equip bonus. He decided to just leave it alone for now; it wasn't too important.

There were other things that the room had that the shield wanted to absorb, but Naofumi couldn't be bothered to read through all of them. He skipped over reading the attaching skills, stats and possible enhancements.

**[Coal Shield]**  
[**Rope Shield]  
[Bucket Shield]  
[Torch Shield]  
[Lantern Shield]**

"Wait, a lantern?" Naofumi, through mindlessly picking things up, only finally noticed what he was picking up when the item in question matched a subtle concern of travelling through the cavern. "That might be helpful."

He didn't even register the fact that either corresponding shield might have given him the light needed for safely navigating through the mineshaft. He picked up another lantern and passed it to Raphtalia, giving himself another lantern in the process.

They left the building and entered the mineshaft while Naofumi stayed in front, having his new [Pickaxe Shield] before him. It looked well-constructed, as far as Naofumi knew about excavation sites, but the damages to the walls and ground had been off-putting. Claw marks were the most obvious offenders to the surfaces.

"Raphtalia, keep an eye out for monsters and stay close to me, alright?"

"Y-Yes, I will."

The tunnels were excavated thoroughly from the first few levels, but as they descended, the minecart tracks started to become less frequent and probably a sign that they were heading into somewhat unexplored territory. Though, the path had to be dug out for them to walk through, so there probably weren't any ores along this area.

However, Raphtalia was starting to become slightly concerned.

The mineshaft sounded empty. It didn't feel like there were any monsters at all. Let alone their footsteps, she could drop a pin and that could echo throughout the tunnel's length. Being told that monsters lived here, it gave an eerie atmosphere.

And yet, her master still walked forwards, as if he wasn't minding that aspect, or perhaps he simply hasn't noticed it yet. He hadn't been himself, so she reached out to Naofumi and weakly tugged at his clothing.

They both stopped as Naofumi looked back.

"What's the matter, Raphtalia?"

"Are you… still thinking about Mister Ren?"

Naofumi grimaced and averted his eyes. That itself was a very clear answer.

"What's this all about so suddenly?"

"I-I don't think… Mister Ren really meant what he said. H-He's a bit scary, but he's your friend, right?" Raphtalia said, trying to help her master. "He was just looking out for you… Maybe…"

"I was holding him back. I wasn't doing anything against Zellus in that fight except for hindering Ren," he sulked. "I couldn't even… _retain my promise…_"

Raphtalia couldn't hear the last bits of the sentence since it reduced to a mumble. "Maybe he said those things to make sure you escape!"

"He was really angry at me." Naofumi could remember Ren's expression clearly from that day. "There's no way there was any ulterior motive. His shouting came from his heart and I couldn't blame him. I dragged him down, became useless to him, and probably ended up being the reason why he was caught in the end, if he had been caught."

"T-That's not true!"

"Who was it that saved you from Zellus' attack?" Raphtalia flinched at the question and Naofumi continued, turning his back to her. "It clearly wasn't me. All I did was stand there, cowering in fear and pleading desperately to someone that wouldn't obviously wouldn't listen."

"I-I…"

"It was Ren and he got hurt in the process because he went and did my job in my place." A heavy sigh followed. "_I_ didn't know what to even do. And if this happened with a friend with more experience, I don't even want to think what would happen with Itsuki and Motoyasu. _I wonder if I should even show my face at the waves of destruction if I'm only going to make the entire thing harder for them..._"

Naofumi started to walk onwards again while Raphtalia felt like she simply brought his mood further down into the depths; if not, then she at the very least resurfaced his troubling thoughts, but it was clear that he wasn't going to let those emotions step out of his perimeter.

"We should start moving," he softly said. "We don't know when the monsters would strike and I rather not encounter them if we have the chance. I'm not in the mood to fight monsters unless we have to."

Keeping her head down and with a reluctant whimper, Raphtalia trailed behind her master.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

There was a sound of water crashing down the tunnel, rapidly falling down as the air became damper than before. The lanterns were starting to become obsolete and Naofumi quickly discovered why as the carved pathing led them out to an open clearing within the mountain.

A beautiful scenery unravelled as they stepped forwards, immediately seeing a waterfall sparkling its water vapour into the air. That would definitely explain the dampened air, but the sight itself was almost breath-taking. There was a hole above that allowed light to shine within, reflecting off all of the ores that were grown within the walls, but if that was the only factor, the cavern would have still been dimly lit. It was as if the ores were glowing themselves.

It was at the point where Naofumi and Raphtalia didn't even need their lanterns anymore.

Heading over to a nearby vein, he took out the pickaxe from his inventory and heaved it over his shoulder.

"Raphtalia, keep a lookout for any monsters and alert me if so."

"Y-Yes, I'll keep watch."

Naofumi struck the vein a few times, cycling the systematic motion before pieces started to fall apart. Regardless of how he struck it, the pieces would all be relatively the same size, rolling next to his feet. Mining was significantly easier than he thought. He went on with finishing the current vein and the one right next to it before collecting the materials off the ground.

As per usual, the shield really wanted to eat one up and spit out a shield in return.

**[Light Metal Ore Shield]**

Without another glance at the new unlock, he went to stash the ores safely into his inventory. A few seconds would have been enough to take in the information, but Naofumi completely disregarded it. In any case, it had only been a few minutes so far and he had collected a decent amount.

He searched around the area for more veins before travelling over to them, breaking more pieces off. The shopkeeper didn't exactly specify how much each ore would have been bought for, but he should try and get a hefty amount while he was here.

Meanwhile, Raphtalia stood back, looking around the scenery.

She had never been brought to a place quite like this before. She was used to the landscapes of the sea and forest, but the cavern looked nice too. Though, through her sightseeing, he noticed something rather unsettling.

There were a few branching paths from the clearing, one of which being where they came from. However, there was another one off to the edge that caught her attention.

Footprints were printed into the ground, leading into that tunnel alongside pieces of meat that looked like it came directly from a monster. The blood that cushioned the meat had trickled down that deeper path, as if something had been carrying the main course away.

Her ears then picked up something.

It was subtle walking, but it was covered up by a deep growling.

That growling sounded too familiar to her as she watched quietly for the origin of the footsteps. Something told her that she didn't want to know and another told her that she already knew, even if it seemed highly improbable that _the monster_ would be here as well.

Her breathing started to fall into a panicked rhythm.

She knew she had to alert her master, but her feet couldn't move.

A voice couldn't be found until she saw _it _enter the clearing.

Her voice merely resulted in a scream.

"_NOOOOOOOO!_"

Naofumi immediately turned around, seeing Raphtalia suddenly hunching over and breathing heavily. Her head was kept downwards, trying not to look onwards, forcing him to check in her stead.

He was told by the shopkeeper that there were monsters in here, but he was still startled by what had been standing behind them. He was expecting something like bats or small creatures, but his jaw opened wide as utter confusion erupted from his voice.

'_A-A cerberus…!? No, it has two heads, so that's an orthrus…!_'

Out of all monsters possible, he simply didn't expect one of them to be a two-headed dog that rivaled his own height that drew parallels to greek mythology. It had a black sheen to its rough coat and each head was moving with their own volition, but they were both snarling. As they scratched the ground with their claws and saliva drooled past their fangs, their eyes had all ignited simultaneously in a red light—

—towards _them_.

'_... Oh, that's not good._'

"R-Raphtalia!" his voice slightly quivered. "We have to run!"

His calls for the order weren't getting through to her. She remained there, crouched down on the ground, trying to act as if this encounter had been a nightmare before it could really kick off yet.

"H-Hey, Raphtalia!"

Once again, it was as if he wasn't even there, but the monster hadn't been playing the same game. Raphtalia clearly wasn't going to pull out her dagger and whatever the reason was, the outcome wasn't going to be nice.

"N-No!" Raphtalia shrieked, curling up more. "S-Stay away!"

The dog monster charged onwards as its tongue slobbered from its jaws. A child must have been a delicious snack to have, especially when it walked themselves into its den, but the flash of memory erupted in Naofumi's head.

If he stayed frozen like in the Zellus' confrontation, Raphtalia was going to die or at the very least, suffer major injuries. There was no one that could have picked up his slack around him, but he simply didn't know what he could have done. She was scared, fearing for her life through a promise that he made as the Shield Hero, a person meant to protect others.

"D-Damn it!"

His mind stopped thinking and he jumped into the monster's path, throwing out his shield to intercept the attack. He even surprised himself at his movements. The fangs that were meant for Raphtalia sunk into Naofumi's shield instead, but it quickly realized that the metal wasn't edible. It pushed Naofumi backwards and bashed its head against him; he barely was able to recover the shield's direction and had the skull collide with the surface.

The impact was powerful that pushed him backwards a bit, but he managed to muscle through to a halt. He tried leaning forwards to try and push it away, but its hind legs were beating out Naofumi's own.

From the burst of tension, he tried to explode all his energy into a single thrusting motion which ended up giving some of the distance he needed, but not enough to have breathing room. Though, the monster backed off a few more steps willingly to gauge Naofumi a bit more, showing some uncalculated resistance.

"_K-Keel… I-I'm sorry… I'm sorry…_" Naofumi could hear her voice deteriorate into hopeless sobbing. "_M-Mommy… Daddy… P-Please don't leave me…_"

Grimacing in his options, he ran over to Raphtalia's side and tried to quickly help her out. However, he really didn't know what to say through that state of hers. The closest thing that he was able to solve was his brother's issues and that was simply because he already had the right pieces in his hands.

"Raphtalia, we need to leave! We can't stay here anymore! It's too dangerous!"

She was his only source of damage to monsters. Without Raphtalia in the right state of mind, he was merely a useless shielder, unable to do anything by himself. With the monster being strong, the possibility of death was high.

And yet, through all that despair, his volition hung on. He didn't even know where it came from.

The dog, seeing Naofumi's back, was charging once again. Naofumi heard the footsteps and grabbed Raphtalia's shaking body, jumping out of the way. He rolled over, trying to not flatten her in the process while keeping her close to his chest.

It swerved around, unable to slow down from its speed, preparing for a lunge.

He needed to escape, but how?

The only feasible way was that he should run to the path he came from, but the dog was quick. It would catch up to them in a matter of moments and maul down on the captured prey.

It started running.

Raphtalia dug herself closer to his chest, crying out in fear.

Naofumi bit down on his teeth and backed up instinctively from the incoming monster. He was trying to think about everything he could have done, but nothing came to his mind through his panic. The distance was closing ever more until he stumbled. There weren't any ledges that he could trip over, but through the crashing water, Naofumi immediately remembered what their positioning was.

His hands were on the girl; he couldn't recover properly, nor could he react as accordingly. Naofumi was forced to hang on tightly to himself and Raphtalia.

"H-Hold your breath, Raphtalia!"

He had accidentally stepped over the cliff and lunged himself down, side-by-side to the waterfall and hit the water with a giant splash. The dog monster merely watched over the edge, stopping before it would follow, trying to see where they went, but after a few seconds, the monster didn't hold an interest in chasing blindly.

It turned back around before Naofumi and Raphtalia could surface upon the underground lake.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

"_Cough, cough_!"

Naofumi surfaced in a different part of the lake, being taken underwater by the strong current. Hoarse coughs came from both of them as he tried to keep Raphtalia's head above the water, even if it kept himself at risk.

Luckily though, he managed to grab onto a ledge that was a part of another clearing. Though, he expected them to be much deeper into the mineshaft than he would have wanted to be, but that was to be granted from the height of that drop. He clawed his fingered into the rocks and tugged on himself, pulling him and Raphtalia out from the flowing water and onto land.

His clothes were drenched, making the process much more heavier, but he managed somehow, gasping for air as he held himself up on all four limbs. His breastplate wasn't too lucky to survive as he was forced to abandon it into the bottom of the lake. Raphtalia, on the other hand, had been lying down next to him as he dragged her there, continuing to cough of a storm.

"A-Are… you okay, R-Raphtalia…?" He somehow got the question out through the lungs that he swore was filled with water at this point. "Not… hurt or… anything, right?"

"_N-Not again… P-Please don't…_" Despite nearing drowning, Raphtalia looked to still be in her nightmare trance. She was speaking the same few phrases as she would when she was asleep, but the difference was that she was awake. "_Don't leave me… Please don't leave…_"

Even with the wet expression, it wasn't difficult to notice her tears emerging through the river's residue.

"C'mon, Raphtalia. Snap out of it…"

He staggered over to Raphtalia's side, but moving towards her felt heavy and slow. The water kept dripping off his clothes, trailing his movements before he came to hold her cold hands.

"I-I need to keep you safe."

He lifted Raphtalia into his arms as she shuddered, but she suddenly dove her head into his body before he could get the chance to hold her correctly. Her tears erupted into an uncontrollable sobbing.

"_Daddy! Where are you!? I don't want you or Mommy to leave me alone like this! That monster didn't kill you! You're strong, so where did you go!?_"

He could feel the sorrow in her voice, tearing herself apart in denial, but he wondered what could have caused such a panic attack. He didn't know much of Raphtalia's past, but it sounded like her nightmares were directly related to whatever happened before she became a slave. It was as if her nightmares leaked out to the real world, but as he stirred the idea, he couldn't mix it around for long enough.

The contrasting warm tears were rubbed against him as his hands moved by themselves, trying to comfort the little girl in a protective embrace. It was obvious that Raphtalia thought he was her father, but as being someone else, it felt wrong to take that role. And yet, it didn't matter to Naofumi at the moment.

He didn't want Raphtalia to keep on crying.

"_There, there…_" He stroked his fingers through her wet hair. "It's going to be okay, Raphtalia. I'm going to be here to protect you."

However, Raphtalia merely burrowed deeper to his chest, forcing him to awkwardly accept her sadness. It was almost painful to see such a young girl experience hardships, ending up being forced to fight upon the Shield Hero's behalf. If he was any useful, maybe he would be able to protect Raphtalia in a better way than take attacks and endanger her life in the process.

He even doubted if it was a good idea to buy her in the first place.

He was barely keeping his promise.

"Raphtalia, wake up," he said softly. "We still need to get out of this mineshaft. The quicker we get out, the less likely we'll run into that monster again."

Naofumi glanced around his surroundings, realizing that he dropped the pickaxe up the waterfall when he went to defend against the attack. There were still light metal ores ingrained into the walls, but there were less tunnels that he could have taken. In fact, there was only one, but it looked like it was trailing upwards to the upper levels.

However, he flinched when he fully registered what was around him.

Primarily, it was the rotten scent that told him that something was amiss.

"_M-Monster bodies_…?"

Scattered around the clearing, there had been creatures that were either half eaten or barely there. Compared to the corpses that were left by balloons and other non-blooded monsters, it looked quite gruesome. Naofumi noticed that there were distinct bite marks, suggesting that another monster might have been eating them, but he blanched when he realized the probable connection.

"S-So _that's_ why we didn't see any other monster?"

As if it was called upon, Naofumi heard a growling emerge from the lone exit.

He turned over in horror to see that the two-headed dog, who went back to its nest, had its hunted prey drop into its territory on a silver platter. Its growling was more excited than before and when the sound reached Raphtalia's ears, she started screaming again.

"That's _really _not good!"

The dog monster rushed forwards without waiting for any pretenses, but Naofumi pulled Raphtalia out from his chest. She gasped surprisingly, as if she snapped out using that roughness and looked over to her master in confusion.

"H-Huh?"

"Raphtalia, roll!"

Without a second thought, he tossed Raphtalia to the side and spun to collide with the monster once more. However, the energy he spent trying to get out of the strong current was taking its toll on him alongside the loss of his breastplate, meaning that he had less defensive stats than before. The weight holding up his [Pickaxe Shield] felt much heavier than before as the monster tried to run him over.

Suddenly, it twisted its head to the side, causing Naofumi to stagger forwards into the second head. He tried to bring up his shield to block the incoming bite, successfully swing it back to have it bite down on the shield.

He assumed that the pickaxe blades that were on the shield would have done _something_, but the monster treated it like another blunt toy to rip through.

However, the original head swung its head back and bit down onto his exposed shoulder, sinking the fangs deeply into a gushing blood fountain.

"A-Agh…!"

"M-Master Naofumi!"

Raphtalia screamed for her master from the sidelines, watching in disbelief as to what unfolded. His blood was spilling onto the cavern floor off from his arm as he was shaking, a telling sign that he couldn't hold the dog back for much longer.

He tried to look over to her, but the pain forced him to keep focus on the monster. The blood emerging was more that he had ever seen since Ren staggered into Erhart's store, but it was clearly different when he was the one experiencing the blood loss.

Ren must have bled for so long throughout the night and still fought off his attackers until he reached a safe haven. In contrast, Naofumi couldn't even hang on against an injury in his shoulder.

Truly pathetic, wasn't it?

'_I guess I won't be able to even come to the waves of destruction,_' Naofumi silently grieved. '_It's a fitting demise for someone who was useless until the bitter end. Damn it, I just want to see my friends again to say sorry…_"

The image of his friends turning their backs away from him appeared before his eyes, stepping away as his vision was starting to be filled with darkness. He couldn't guess what type of faces they would be making now. There was merely a bitter tone left in his voice, as if there was something trying to grab it.

"_R-Ren… Motoyasu… Itsuki…_"

In one more attempt, he turned his head slowly towards Raphtalia, finally seeing the horrified dread written on his expressions. She looked like she wanted to cry again, but she wasn't calling for her mother or her father anymore, staying there silently with her eyes wide awake.

If he died, he would break his promise to his friends. However, he could at least keep one promise safe.

"Raphtalia," Naofumi said in a strangely calm manner. "I need you to run away."

Her mouth froze open, stiffening at the familiar words.

"W-What?" Her words emerged, not wanting to know the answer. "Y-You… You want me to… leave you here?"

"I'll keep this monster busy. I may be useless to everyone, even now when I can't even deal with this thing, but I would be completely trash if I can't keep my promise with a kid. I want you to run, Raphtalia. I'm begging you…!"

"M-Master Naofumi, I-I can't…"

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

"N-No…"

Raphtalia's vision was flashing between her standing to watch Naofumi being bitten and the moment where she watched as Keel was being taken down, practically in preparation to be mauled. The words even rang similarly in her ears as she refused to break down even more than that. She didn't want to think about it further, knowing that Keel never returned to that village that day.

His body hadn't even been found and she feared that Naofumi, the master that showed her kindness, was going to experience the same fate as her friend underneath the same species of monster.

It was almost like it was a cruel joke by the world.

"Please, Raphtalia." Her master's face began to twist. "I want to protect you and—_Grah!_"

The fangs sunk further into his shoulder, breaking out another burst of blood as all feeling began to hurt so much in his shoulder that it was wrapping around back to feeling numb. Though it hadn't reached that threshold yet, so the mask, which Naofumi was trying to keep Raphtalia composed with, fell off like the blood to the ground.

Time moved so slowly for her that she thought she could have seen the individual red droplets splashing against the mineraled surface.

"Raphtalia! I'm _begging _you!" he suddenly howled in anguish. "Run! Escape! Get as far away as you can from here!"

She didn't want it to happen twice and yet, she didn't know what she could do.

As it stood, her options were to leave, allowing an event like this to happen again, or die, knowing that the monster would be too strong for both of them to handle. The fine line about what she should do was being muffled by his memories and nightmares as her legs quivered in distress.

To live, she had to run.

But if Naofumi died, could she remain alive to carry that heavy burden on top of the pre-existing ones?

That bright smile that he had given to her the day that she was bought by him and the friendliness that he showed her—she didn't want to let that disappear into another nightmare. She knew somewhere, the Shield Hero merely stumbled on his path and could return to that contented self one day. And yet, that hope that was risen up by the hands of the Shield Hero was about to be smashed into pieces once again.

Her heart couldn't have taken it.

Though, what could she do to help?

…

…

… Suddenly, as if it was answering her calls, the dagger lying in her sheath had started to glow. She slowly pulled it out to see that a white light had been emerging through the veins of the black sheen as she felt power lurking through.

Her arms, nevertheless, were still shaking, but it felt like it was trying to pull her over to the enemy.

She couldn't explain it, but before she could realize it, her inner desires took over her body.

What did they say?

'_Don't leave him. Don't let him die. Don't let this happen again._'

Her arms stuck out as she pointed the dagger forwards.

'_The difference between then and now is that you can struggle._'

Her feet started to move, running forwards, as she took a deep breath to close the distance. She struck with the dagger, feeling a surplus of energy, and sunk the weapon right into the monster's body. It couldn't hit any of the vitals to incapacitate it due to the blind attack, but enough blood spilled out to pale Raphtalia's face.

However, she stayed strong, just as when she tried to attack that knight who was going to kill the Shield Hero and the Sword Hero. In fact, she had to be stronger. She wasn't going to be lucky again and have her life saved out of nowhere, so she gripped onto the handle and yanked it out, watching as the blood splattered over her.

Fortune gave her a place to be next to the Shield Hero.

She couldn't let misfortune strike again.

Raphtalia stumbled backwards as the dog released its toothed prison on Naofumi, howling in pain. Its eyes immediately drew away from him and towards its attacker, snarling for its displeasure and anger, but Naofumi shook off the pain in his shoulder.

"Damn it…!" His chest burned as he recklessly smashed himself into the dog. "Get _away _from her!"

He threw everything he had into that attack, but it didn't look like it hurt the monster in the slightest. However, he did manage to push it away from them which transitioned into another retreat. It unfortunately resulted in Naofumi dropping onto a knee and growling from the injury.

"R-Raphtalia, why didn't you—?"

Before he could finish his question, he was met with Raphtalia running into his chest. Stunned and speechless, she rose up and looked at her master. Her expression was torn, crying for whatever reason as sobbed through her words.

"_I don't want you to die…_"

"... R-Raphtalia?" His eyes opened up a bit.

"I don't want you to die, Master Naofumi!" she wept. "I don't want to lose another person I care about again! Everyone keeps going away and I don't like the feeling I'm left with it, Master! I-I'm scared, but I'm scared of feeling that pain too! So please, I want to stay by your side and help you!"

Raphtalia's head collapsed onto his body out of her emotional stress.

"_J-Just please… don't die…_"

Naofumi could only stay there in silence as his heart's beating sounded in his ears. Her solemness struck a chord somewhere within him as for the first time in a while, his soul was easing itself. It simply took the irony of seeing his concerns for Ren being replicated before him.

The darkness began to illuminate as his mental image of himself was able to see the faces of his three friends that all looked away. They were all sad from the fact that Naofumi was willingly entering to his death, but when they saw him go by them, their frowns turned into a smirk.

'_See? I told you Naofumi wouldn't give up!_'

'_Well, we still have to save the world, right?_'

As the illusions of Motoyasu and Itsuki spoke without their mouths moving, Ren stood in the middle. He was still frowning, as per his usual self, but it was simply because he was delayed on his own grin and took a step forward.

'_You're better than this, Naofumi. You just needed a push,_' his voice echoed. '_You better not let that monster get to you, or else you'll be hearing a lot more from me._'

Useless or not, Naofumi held onto his desire to help—that feeling that felt like a distant memory was burning in his heart, fending off against the despair in his heart. He could still feel the chains, but he also felt his strength. The innocent flames that he saw on the first day of their life in Melromarc were returning alongside a brighter fire that he didn't even know existed inside of him.

All three of his friends disappeared in the wind, but he felt gentle pushes on his back, walking him back into the light. They were redirecting him away from something that felt like it could have corrupted him.

'_Hey, Naofumi?_' Itsuki's voice rang from behind. '_Don't you still have a promise you have to keep? You can't keep it if you're dead, you know._'

Naofumi stepped forward as the invisible force disappeared, leaving him to see a lone girl, whimpering in the white world. Her clothes had been ragged and her hair was a mess, just as how he met her the first time.

However, he kept walking forwards without looking back and her appearance started to be cleaner where the memories over the last few days finally hit him incompletion, showing him that even in his lowered state, she was still trying her best.

As she kept her head down, Naofumi finally walked up to her and knelt down on a leg.

His hand extended out to rub her head, calming her down.

"_Raphtalia_. _I'm… I'm sor—_" His voice croaked a bit as he brought his other hand to his heart. "_No. That's not what I have to say to her._"

The two-headed dog howled loudly and shook off the pain that the girl had dealt to it. With the idea of retaliation on its mind, it charged forwards, opening its mouth to snatch the girl out of the man's range by the head.

Closer and closer, it seemed like their attention was pulled away from it, making them the easiest targets that the monster had the luxury of devouring on. Slobbering with greed, the fangs struck out and shut down tightly—

—right onto Naofumi's shield.

It whelped in surprise.

Raising his injured shoulder hurt, but letting himself down alongside Raphtalia would hurt even more. The girl looked up at her master, seeing a new face that she hadn't seen yet. It was still conflicted and troubled, but it was clear that Naofumi had found his footing that he was trying to find this entire time.

"Raphtalia. Thank you." His voice was sharper and had some level of resolution in it, giving her a soft smile. "I know that you might have gone through a lot, especially in your past and with me, but I still have to protect you. If I'm going to do that, I'll have to stay alive, so what I'm trying to say…"

He closed his eyes to find the words, taking a deep breath before looking to Raphtalia straight on.

"Can you be my sword? Can I ask you to trust me?"

"I-I…" Her voice shook for a mere moment before she held onto the dagger tightly. "I want to fight for you, Master Naofumi! If that means you won't die, then I want to help you! You took care of me! You saved me! You showed me that there was still hope in my life!"

Raphtalia strengthened her voice through her tears.

"I will always follow you!"

Naofumi's shoulder gave in from the bite as the monster lifted its two front legs, extending its claws out. He turned his head, stiffening from its new attack as it lashed out to where he was. It was a heavy strike, breaking the cavern's flooring into pieces, but that was all that the monster could break.

He leapt out of the way before the attack could land, as it struggled to remove its claws from the hardened ground.

With Raphtalia in his arms, he set her down onto her feet, staggering a bit, but finding her footing. She readied the dagger, keeping it to her side as he took the stage as what role he was supposed to have been playing from the very beginning.

With his shield facing outwards, he glared at the monster who was snarling its annoyance, managing to break out.

"I know this is late, Raphtalia, but thanks for dealing with me when I was down. I can see now that all you were trying to do was cheer me up, but it's time for me to return the favour to you." His head turned back to her. "You met this type of monster before, right?"

"Y-Yeah…" she nodded softly. "I-It attacked my village during the waves of destruction. It killed many people like my friend and my parents…"

"That means if we can beat this monster here, we'll be one step closer to being prepared for the next wave. I know your life's been hard, but we can make sure that no other kids experience what you had to go through."

'_Though, that's considering if we even have the ability to beat this thing or not, but considering the circumstances, we can't escape together otherwise. Looks like what we have to do is clear._'

Naofumi matched the eye contact that the monster was giving him, and despite the low-toned growling, it didn't look too scary anymore, but that didn't mean he could let his guard down.

"Raphtalia, lend me your strength!"

"Y-Yes, Master Naofumi!"

As the dog ran forwards like his shouts were a signal to engage, Naofumi dashed over to meet it in the middle with his shield feeling lighter than ever before.

'_I can't take the easy way out anymore. Ren, I might not be meeting your standards, but even if you still hate me, I'm still a hero. I have to protect everyone I love with everything on the line, at the very least!_'

With his inner proclamation, a resounding noise clanked through the air.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

Naofumi and the monster bounced off each other as the focus was redirected onto him. He landed away, bending his knees to catch himself in a firm position, but slightly staggering a bit. The monster took the opportunity to lunge forwards, opening its mouths for a double fanged assault.

He pushed his shielder between the heads, splitting them down to the middle. The heads still tried to wrap around to catch his shoulders, but once saw it coming, he ducked and bashed his shield against the chest. The strain placed on his shoulder still shouted its agony, but he bit down and tried to push it away.

However, he couldn't get far with that tactic. Not only had it been doing nothing to the monster, it leapt back of its own volition and bounced back, pulling out the right head to strike first.

Recovering from his stagger, he clocked his shield into the neck, knocking the bite away, but he knew that no matter how much force he threw into his retaliation, it would always be treated as a tickle to anything, especially stronger monsters. Strangely enough, normal physics that occurred within the realms of momentum appeared to remain, as the monster fell back as if he properly hit it and yet it stood up without a scratch.

It started to proctor the area, walking slowly as he retreated back to Raphtalia and keeping her close to him. With his shield being brought up as a confident barrier, they both watched for each other's movements.

Raphtalia wasn't fast enough to match the monster _and_ land a precise attack.

He needed to try and pin it down for Raphtalia to get a clean hit, but making a plan and finding an objective were always easier than the execution, especially in the heat of the moment.

It would have been nice if she could wear down the monster by weaving in attacks aggressively like how Ren would enact, but there was no way he could treat her as such. With different capabilities, he needed a different approach to the situation.

'_Naofumi, what skills do you have underneath your belt_?'

Ren's question for him during Zellus' fight echoed in his ear.

"_Special attacks or abilities, huh?_"

He remembered that he managed to unlock a few shields without checking the rest of its details, but he needed time to read through it. He couldn't do it if he's too focused on the monster that's trying to kill them, but perhaps there was a way to buy him a few seconds to rush through them all.

The ground underneath the monster cracked as it quickly galloped to close the gap, curving into him from the right. The monster was smart to try and flank the side of Naofumi that was already injured, but he stepped forward and picked up the half of a bat monster on the ground, gathering an idea.

Zellus' actions were mirroring in his mind, using the bricks in the streets as a part of his offense.

As it opened its mouth for another attack, Naofumi threw the corpse down the throat, causing it to bite down as part of its instinct and it started chewing. That head wasn't complaining about the free appetizer handed to it, but the other hadn't been served yet. It extended its neck outwards to catch Naofumi, but it got another helping of the shield.

He slammed the armament over the head and sidestepped over before grabbing its neck to try and control it. Naofumi unfortunately underestimated its strength and was swung around for a ride as the monster tried to get him to get go, but his grip persisted. He managed to pull it over to his side a bit, but enough for Raphtalia to have a good surface to strike.

"Raphtalia!"

Without another word, she ran up quickly to the side and dug her dagger in deep.

His hands slipped from the neck and allowed the monster to spin rampant, screaming out loud. She must have gotten a deeper cut on a vital point, but as it took a step back, its attention was refocused on Raphtalia who hadn't retreated yet from her strike.

It lifted both of its front legs and swiped the claws down at her. Before they could land, Naofumi jumped in to push her out of the way, letting the claws impale the ground instead. He saw that the claws were struggling to be removed and in a split second, he was reminded of its previous attempt.

'_Good thinking!_' Zellus' voice shouted to Ren in his memory. '_Make sure to abuse the possible cooldowns and drawbacks that big attacks make!_'

"Hold on tight!"

Naofumi, with Raphtalia in his arms, started running towards the monster. As they came closer, he placed his hand on Raphtalia's feet and thrusted her over the short gap for her to get another good stab at the monster. It cried as it turned around, but before it could act, Naofumi thrusted his shield into the side, all in the midst of catching Raphtalia from her elevated height.

The monster fell over from its four legs, sliding along the ground.

He let her back on her two feet as they watched the monster carefully raise itself back up, shaking its pelt in some type of self psyche-up. However, he didn't expect it to immediately start running. It was as if it was ignoring all of its injuries besides the initial attack, something that Naofumi himself didn't have the luxury of doing.

His health bar was looking bad while his fatigue stemming from the shoulder injury was catching up to him, but he still acted.

He swept Raphtalia off her feet again, and jumped out of the way, leering backwards to seeing it curving around in a circle before making another attempt. It was almost acting like those bulls that matadors fought with in sports, but in the place of the red banner, he was using himself as the trigger.

Though, he had to wonder if it didn't know how to stop its acceleration quickly.

As if taking turns in his memory, the day that Ren fought the rookie knight rang in his head.

'_He's trying to figure out the knight's patterns and movements,_' Itsuki explained on the sidelines. '_In _Brave Star Online_, he tries to uphold a three-step rule. Watch the enemy, understand the enemy, then act on openings or exploitations._'

He dodged out of the way of the second charge and noted that it was still curving around as he repositioned himself to a place closer to the walls. It blindly followed him as it approached, Naofumi pushed Raphtalia onto her feet and forced both of their dodges, letting the monster slam right into the wall, stunned for a moment.

"We have to slow it down! Go for the leg!"

As ordered, Raphtalia pulled out her dagger and attacked the hind legs this time. A severe wound was drawn, covering the weapon in blood and making Raphtalia shake in the process. Though, both of them didn't expect it to kick back, which gutted Raphtalia and sent her flying onto the ground.

"R-Raphtalia! Are you okay!?"

He ran over to check on her, but she was still conscious. They were lucky that it was a weak one and from the party member listings, she didn't take anything that would constitute placing her in a life-threatening scenario. With a silent nod from her, he helped stand her up as the monster was staggering a bit.

When it turned, there were no real signs that indicated that it ran into a wall, much to his dismay, but it was much hesitant on moving.

'_Should I use this opportunity to scroll through the shields…?_'

Any hesitation on his end was wasted time, so as he brought his shield forwards, he opened up the menu of shields that he had in his arsenal.

**[Light Metal Ore Shield] 0/35 C  
(Equip Bonus) : Defense 1  
(Special Effect) : Magic Defense 1**

**[Lantern Shield] 0/32 C  
(Equip Bonus) : Illumination Growth 3**

**[Torch Shield] 0/16 C  
(Special Effect) : SP Increase (Small), Illumination Growth 1**

"Master Naofumi! The monster's coming!"

He couldn't get through them all in time, dropping out from his menu and back into the battle, but it felt like the monster was approaching with more speed. He grunted as he couldn't evade the lunge, needing to take the attack directly on his defense, switching to the [Light Metal Ore Shield] to get at least a better rating shield out on the lines.

It swung its left head to knock the shield out though and used its right head to bash into Naofumi's injured shoulder, causing immense pain, but then it backed off before Naofumi or Raphtalia could enact a counterstrike.

Wincing in the agony, Naofumi realized that the monster was much smarter than it looked, trying to wear down the shielder slowly. The energy it had inside of it must have been great alongside the resistances if it was confident in playing the long game.

'_Was there any way to shorten this fight?_'

The strong current among the clearing showered its sound as he glanced behind him, remembering how difficult it was to fight against the water and it seemed like the current would have carried him further into the cavern if he hadn't been able to catch himself here.

There was another small pre-dissected monster corpse by his feet, so a plan started to emerge.

"Raphtalia, can you hang tight by yourself for a bit? I'm going to try and end this quickly, but if I mess up, can you come help me?"

"Of course!"

Raphtalia moved out of the way as one of the heads remained looking at her. However, Naofumi grabbed the monster corpse pieces, to which there were two, and threw one of them at the distracted head. As hoped for, it looked back at him.

"Hey! You big… stupid dog thing!"

'_Smooth one, Naofumi._'

"Y-You're a weak dog! I-I bet you… can't even get to me even if you wanted to!"

'_Geez, I really suck at insults._'

"Come and get me!"

Nevertheless, it started growling at him as if it was angered by the weak provocation from him. It must have been more successful than he expected since it took no more than three seconds for the monster to restart its reckless charging, causing Naofumi to begin his best impressions of the matadors.

He kept a careful eye on the positioning of everything—where he was, where the current was, where the dog was and most importantly, where Raphtalia was. He kept moving closer to the water and angles, steadily guiding the monster over, but when he stood before the lake, the monster didn't move.

Naofumi clicked his tongue. It probably knew better from the wall trick.

Throwing out the other piece of the corpse, he tried to egg it on, but it didn't even heed the meat. If he remained there, the monster would lose interest and turn to Raphtalia, who was anxiously watching from a distance.

"Fine! If you won't come to me, I'll just come to you!"

The moment he started running to the monster, it bent its legs and started running again. He couldn't exactly stop or change his direction in the moment; doing either would lower the chances of the monster rushing itself into the water.

He leaned backwards, switching to the [Pickaxe Shield]. He was going to use the edges for a good use, pressing his weight down behind it and grinding on it as he slid between the legs of the monster.

It skidded to a halt before it could reach the water, stopping by clawing the ground. It was about to turn around to return to chasing after the annoying pest in its eyes, but it felt a push behind it.

Naofumi bounced back, settling for having it close to the shore, and pushed the dog into the water with all of his might, shoulder and all.

And down, the dog went into the water upon the depths as he watched it seemingly disappear from a splash.

"_Good… riddance…!_"

Naofumi took the moment to catch his breath and ease his breathing. They weren't out of danger since they had to escape the cavern, but for some reason, he didn't feel like this was over yet. His instincts were telling him that he could use this chance to figure out the rest of his shields and to confirm it, Raphtalia shouted out to him.

"Master Naofumi! Those dog monsters can swim, even in strong currents!"

He flinched from the warning, backing up quickly from the shore and opening up his menu to check for anymore shields at his disposal. He could feel the tension climbing up in his body, but he should be satisfied that he was considered a fast reader.

**[Coal Shield] 0/25 C  
(Equip Bonus) : Stamina Up (Small), Defense 1**

**[Bucket Shield] 0/35 C  
(Special Effect) : Water Storage**

Bubbling started to emerge from the water along the wall as a dark figure shot upwards, climbing the surface straight out from the lake. It was almost crazy how the monster broke itself out and Naofumi watched in impressed horror, but he couldn't falter now.

He found something he could use.

[**Rope Shield] 0/27 C  
(Equip Bonus Skill) : Rope Trap**

"C'mon, please let it be a good one!"

His shield transformed; its surface was spiraling around like a wounded-up piece of rope with the gem in the center and he aimed the shield towards the monster who had reached its climax and jumped off the wall with murderous intention in mind.

His shield didn't light up like Ren's sword, but he could feel the energy gathering through his desires.

"[Rope Trap]!"

From the gem, a light shot out and expanded into a web. It grew bigger to its wide spread almost instantly and shot upwards into the monster's body. It was a net made out of rope and it caught the monster, causing it to stagger through the air.

The body was still crashing down, so Naofumi leapt out of the space and turned over to Raphtalia upon noticing that it was having difficulty escaping the trap.

"Raphtalia! Go for one of the heads!"

Escaping from the sidelines, she thrusted an attack directly into one of the skulls and she made sure that it was deeper enough to kill it. Her expression said she wanted to panic from the surplus of blood, but her grit kept her in the fight, as the head screamed before it went quiet.

The light from its red eyes dimmed.

"That's one head down! Go for the—"

"Ahh!"

The surviving head managed to chew through the rope and knock Raphtalia away on her tail. Naofumi acted quickly, blocking the follow-up attack the monster lashed out in a fury before he managed to back away safely with her. It couldn't break through all of the rope, letting it hang around its neck, but Naofumi's heart skipped a beat when he saw the decreased head.

The dagger Raphtalia was using was stuck inside. She couldn't pull it out in time.

"... Problems just never stop, do they?"

He ran forwards, leaving Raphtalia behind since he knew what he had to do.

Naofumi needed to somehow loosen that dagger.

He reached out for the weapon, but the monster knocked him over to the side. It wasn't going to allow him to retrieve it so easily as he tried another attempt to grab it again. This time, Naofumi missed through its evasion and it rammed itself into his passing body. He hung onto his footing and made a grunt of discomfort.

Instead of going for the dagger directly, his focus shifted on the net that was still stuck around the living head.

He lunged to grab a piece of the net that was on the ground and yanked the monster like it was a leash to a collar. The monster got pulled over out of its surprise, as Naofumi kept tugging, using the hand-over-hand technique to close the gap slowly.

The dagger was so close, so he stopped and reached out, but before his hand could touch it, the monster leapt on him. It pushed him over onto the ground as Naofumi could feel the claws trying to penetrate into his lung, not to mention the weight it had that was flattening him.

A mixture of saliva and blood started to drip from the dog's fangs onto his face, adding the topping of disgust over his pain. He was being prepared for the main course, but he gritted through his alarmed body.

He opened up his inventory and took out one of the light metal ores, throwing it into the mouth to lock it out for a few seconds, all he needed to help end this.

"Raphtalia!"

Naofumi had successfully taken out the dagger the moment it pushed him down and with the last of his strength and slid the dagger across the cavern floor to where Raphtalia was standing.

She picked it up and ran faster than she had ever ran in her life. Her footsteps felt heavy, yet they were light. Her body felt weighted, yet it was nimble. She stopped thinking about everything and focused on eliminating this monster before her.

Her mind flashed back to the capital when the knight was about to hurt her. She remembered the beautiful lights that the Sword Hero brought as he flew over her to protect her and now, she wanted to use that strength to protect the person that she wanted to fight for.

The dagger sparked from its black sheen and burned, as if it was pulling energy out from Raphtalia herself and using it as ammunition for the attack. It quickly engulfed itself into a familiar white light and upon reaching the apex, six blades surrounded the dagger as her chest felt warmer.

Naofumi managed to shake off the claws off him and pulled himself out as the monster spitted out the ore, but it heard the incoming footsteps from Raphtalia and turned, unintentionally exposing its chest.

Raphtalia threw everything she had left in her attack.

It was an attack meant to overcome herself.

It was an attack meant to break her nightmares.

It was an attack meant to _kill this monster and to let them live._

And so, she screamed.

"_HYAHHHHH!_"

It landed as Naofumi watched the transparent blades converge into the main weapon and pierced through the monster. It violently ripped through the fur, plunging straight into the heart and destroying it dead-on. He even felt the impact from where he was, a tribute of its power.

The skill sent the dog flying into the distant wall over the lake, cracking the surface into a small crater and it stayed there until gravity clicked back in, sliding off the monster as it dropped. Its limp body didn't even reach the bottom as it was carried down into the depth of the cavern.

All that was left was the sound of two people, heavily breathing in the clearing.

He looked over to Raphtalia, about to cheer for their victory, but he saw that her body was swaying side to side. The dagger dropped down to the ground from his frozen posture as she fell over.

Naofumi caught her in time, bringing her closer in his arms. Her clothes were all dirty from the blood as well as her face. Her body was warm, and yet it was cold, but she had a satisfied mood around her, as if she could finally be relieved of the situation.

She was unconscious, but what was important to him was that they were both alive.

**[Naofumi] [+340 EXP]  
[Raphtalia] [+430 EXP]**

And with the affirmation of experience points, he was going to be certain that they won't be seeing that particular dog anytime soon. He almost wanted to collapse out of exhaustion, but he still needed to bring themselves into Riyute Village for safety.

But that didn't stop him from crying, and yet he still smiled.

"_Thank you, Raphtalia._"

The next time he met Ren, he wondered if he could have his head held up high instead of constantly looking down or away. He knew he wasn't at a point where he could help Ren out, but given time, he wanted to work on his own strengths and show Ren that he truly has improved.

Despite having the evidence that he could grow, he still felt uneasiness in his heart.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

"_What?_ H-How did they survive that!?"

A hooded figure stood from the cliffside that towered over the area Naofumi fought the two-headed dog. He clicked his tongue as he watched the monster, which they kept in the Church's dungeons, float away on the stream. He sincerely didn't know how to report this back to the Church, considering how that was the last two-headed dog in their stocks.

The original plan was to let _both_ of the designed dogs to hunt down the Shield Hero and his slave, a survivor from the first wave of destruction, but it was suddenly reported that the other one had been slain within the dungeon itself, forcing them to rely on a single one. It was incredibly terrible because they left the Shield Hero's stolen armor in their to let the monster gather his scent and to have him be easily hunted down.

Having the Shield Hero die off among a monstrous encounter was the plan.

However, considering their weakened state, it was tempting to kill them where they stood and still call his mission a success. Taking out his sword and preparing to jump into the lake, he was steeling himself to stab the Shield Hero and his slave.

"Damn it, you can't trust a monster to do your work! I'll just finish it myself!"

"That would make things more difficult."

"Wha—"

That was all he could say before he was seeing his own body. As his vision descended, he saw that his head hadn't been connected to the rest, but there was no way he could have registered the rest. As the bodiless head hit the ground and the headless body fell over, the killer merely scoffed at the man.

The blood from the blade was flicked off as it retracted back into his gauntlet.

His other hand held over the dead victim.

"[Inexplicable Remains]."

Uttering the name of the skill, the body started to fade away into dust to leave behind no evidence. He pulled his hand back, stepping onto the dust that remained of the victim's body and glanced over the edge to see the Shield Hero walking himself to the tunnel with the slave girl in his arms.

A memory etched their voice through the moment.

'_We can't simply let that world be destroyed. This is our final hurdle before the plan is enacted, so we'll need to gather up everything we can get our hands on before we finally wipe it out. That means that we need to keep the corresponding Cardinal Hero to our major goal alive, got that? The others don't matter; feel free to kill them, or better yet, sink them into their cursed series to spread mayhem into their land._'

The man pulled out a tarot card that didn't belong to him, leering down at it and grunting.

'_It sounds like you already have things figured out._'

'_Obviously. I control the fate of the future in my hand._'

Knowing it wasn't time yet to send the signal to his true allies, he slid it back into his coat and took out the repaired mask. Previously, there wasn't a reason to wear it other than to conceal his identity, but with the deep cut and tore away sight from his left eye, it was more to hide a weakness now.

The memory of Zellus easily tearing it away from him burned brightly in his mind.

"_That man… I won't let him do what he likes. The false Gods will not be able to stop us, no matter how many people they send to us._"

He pulled out his dagger, emitting a black smoke before it consumed him entirely.

"_Now then, let's see how long I can keep using this apparent 'Church of Three Heroes' for before I call on my allies…_"

When the smoke cleared out, he disappeared with no traces left behind.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

**Extra Note :**

The final scene was inspired by Allen's _Hope of the Shield Hero_, Chapter 6.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 034 : Recovering Steps**

[Raphtalia] : "..."

[Raphtalia] : "W-Where…?"

[Naofumi] : "Ah, you woke up! What a relief! I brought you back to the inn and they rushed a room for you. Of course, I got weird looks for a bit, but I was able to come up with a believable reason as to how things ended up like that. A-At least, _I_ thought it was believable."

[Raphtalia] : "M-Master Naofumi… Your shoulder is all wrapped up…"

[Naofumi] : "The innkeeper patched it up for me. It'll take a day or two before I can start using it and another week before it'll recover to a good extent. I'll be able to still act as a shield in the time being though, but you should really get some rest, Raphtalia. You worked hard today and… I could never _ever_ thank you more for what happened."

[Raphtalia] "N-No… I-It wasn't like…"

[Naofumi] : "Raphtalia, did you catch a fever? Your face is all red! Ah, it must have been when I accidentally dropped us into the lake! Wait, let me make some fever medicine for you! I remember seeing a recipe unlocked for that in one of the shields! Just hang tight, it;s on the way! I think I have enough spare materials for it too!"

[Raphtalia] : "..."

[Raphtalia] : '_Master Naofumi's back to normal, I think… Thank goodness…_'

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 035 : Weapon Replacement**

[Naofumi] : "Hey, Raphtalia? I have a question."

[Raphtalia] : "What is it, Master Naofumi?"

[Naofumi] : "I remember back in the capital, the dagger we got from Erhart broke, didn't it? I know it was an old one, but I'm still really surprised it snapped so easily since it was new. Though, I guess Ren _was_ technically the one to break it, but that's besides the point."

[Raphtalia] : "What are you asking about?"

[Naofumi] : "It's about the dagger you have right now that you used to kill the orthrus."

[Raphtalia] : "The… orthrus?"

[Naofumi] : "Ah, sorry. I meant the two-headed dog monster. Anyways, I'm talking about the one with the black sheen. I don't ever recall buying you another dagger and I guess I never really thought about it since I noticed you were still fighting normally. You never said a word about it."

[Raphtalia] : "I-I really don't know. This dagger just showed up in my sheath when I looked after we ran from the capital. I don't remember how it even got there, but I… I think someone put it in somehow…"

[Naofumi] : "Someone… put it in your sheath? Without you knowing?"

[Raphtalia] : "I was just as confused too, but it wasn't as if I had another weapon to fight with. We already spent money at Mister Erhart's place and I didn't want to bother you while you were…"

[Naofumi] : "Hmm… I guess there's no harm in using that dagger for now. I'm only curious as to where it originated from, that's all."

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**


	21. Chapter 1-20 : Those With Tainted Wings

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

_His head rolled up_ to the open sky as the young boy held silent, letting his eyes soak in the brilliant lights that were scattered across. Perhaps if he could see a shooting star, he could wish away everything in his life and start all over again. He figured it wasn't such a rare sight to see, but from part of Japan he lived in, they said those spectacles were much harder to come by and the only feasible way to hunt for them was to blindly lay across the grass and wait until God dropped it out from their hands.

Pushing aside that unfortunate luck, it might have already been a fruitless endeavor the moment he tried to trust in the higher beings that they would easily bestow such a treat neatly into his lap. If they never did anything for him then, there was clearly no reason to believe that they would do anything now, but even so, he kept gazing upwards.

It hadn't been because he didn't know any better than to trust the urban legends of the shooting star.

It was simply the act of a child with their backs against the wall. He had no other choice but to believe in silly urban legends that he was brutally told to have not existed. Miracles weren't something spontaneous, nor had they been dependent on one's karma. He was told that they straight-up didn't exist, so he should stop clinging to such meaninglessness, but he didn't have an argument to counter with.

Even if he did have a voice in the conversation, he would be inclined to agree based purely on personal experience. Nothing in his pocket would be able to answer back through the empty pains and senseless hardships that his small body had to go through.

He wanted to ask about the reason, but he never got one.

Slowly yet surely, his mentality started to deteriorate with nothing left except the shirt on his back and the pants on his legs. He never even got to learn what the meaning of innocence was until it was pulled out from under his feet.

And back he was, once again, to the single place he felt safe from his own mundane life.

It was a place a bit far from the beaten pathway of the forest and it rolled down the hill to a small little area where the trees suddenly stopped. They surrounded a small little field, filled with lustrous grass that was comfortable to lie on alongside a giant rock that was held within the center. The moon would always shine brightly down onto the surface as if it kept calling the light to imbue it with its mystifying energy, not that such a thing would exist.

Though, after staying there for about an hour, mindlessly watching for aerial movements, the child thought he would call it quits for today or perhaps, he should call it quits permanently. He didn't know what possessed him to keep returning night after night, but that little hope that remained in his heart was definitely starting to vanish.

As long as he lived, there might have been a chance that it would get better.

But as long as he lived, he would continue to suffer a nightmare that didn't have the light at the end of its tunnel.

It would have been much better for him if he had simply disappeared.

And yet, over the past years with that thought in his mind, he was too scared to leave. He wouldn't have known what else he would do since he wasn't taught about anything properly except his own outlook on the world. Questions about what he would eat and where he would sleep started to pop up in the young mind; questions that a young child should never think about in solitude.

If he ever did see a shooting star, he wondered what he would have wished for.

Would it have been for his life to be better?

Or would it have been the ability to go away from this world?

"_What are you doing here?_"

The young boy stiffened as he turned around to look where the voice had come from. He was surprised to hear somebody, but at the same time, he was scared. He always thought that this place had been a secret area that he knew of exclusively and he didn't want this place to be exposed by the people around him.

However, there was another boy, about his own age with black hair, that had been standing high on the rock. His gaze looked as if it could pierce his soul, freezing him in place out of fear. If the boy had focused anymore, he would have recognized the unusual black clothing that looked like it was ripped out from an anime. It was all ripped by the ends as the arm was covered in bandages, yet they were all loose as if it was supposed to be a prop.

The black-haired boy asked once more.

"_What is an invader like you doing in my ultra super secret hideout!?_"

"H-Huh…?"

Those blue eyes met clearly with the confused boy, conveying it silently through the golden pupils.

"I can't make my plans to defeat the world that casts me aside if you're in my way! If the light is the one that insists on using me as a tool, then I shall fall into the darkness to exact my vengeance! Only then, my justice will be perfect!" The black-haired boy pointed outwards to the edge of the forest, hanging over the stunned audience member. "Now leave, invader! While I still permit you to have your life! Or else I'll let my shadows consume you into the void as practice for everyone else in this wretched world!"

"I-I…"

"What are you mumbling about!? Oh, that's right!" The boy on the rock struck a pose that was advertised to be fearsome. "In addition to letting you live, the shadows claim that you must forget that this place ever existed in the first place! This is my ultra super secret hideout, after all! No one must know about it since it's where I conduct my plans to act among my true allies!"

The boy finally realized that this person wanted him to leave.

Even this place was going to be stripped from him and everything collapsed on his heart.

He started crying while the black-haired boy flinched in the unplanned reaction.

"W-Whoa, wait! Why are you crying!? I-Is this some trick to lower my guard!?"

He jumped down from the rock and landed next to the boy, flailing his arms about to try and get the attention away from the tears, but the boy just kept on crying. There was some much built-up within him that couldn't stop even if he wanted to; when the dams broke, there was no way to quickly rebuild it.

"I-I was only kidding!" the black-haired boy stammered. "L-Look, let's cut a deal here! The shadows don't like outsiders trying to disrupt their righteous path, so they always want to make sure that they aren't being betrayed by those who seek to simply use them! So if you want to return here, you'll have to make a blood pact with the darkness!"

The sobbing somehow slowed down as he looked over to the ramblings of the black-haired boy. The outspoken noticed the garnered attention and struck a dramatic pose to sell the idea, acting like something was controlling his bandaged arm.

"_Yes…! Yes!_" he shouted, swinging his arm to cover half of his face. "The shadows are definitely telling me that you have the potential! If you enter a blood pact with the darkness, perhaps the both of us can combine our strengths and show this world what they're messing with!"

"Show this world…" The golden-eyed boy managed to break the crying down a few sniffles as he averted his gaze. "Was it too hard… for them to treat me like a normal person? I don't even know what I did to make them angry at me."

The black-haired boy widened his eyes as his hand slowly fell to his side. For the first moment of their meeting, he took the posture of a normal person with his arms by his sides and looked longingly into the ground.

"Then it's not your fault if they think it's normal to trample over people like us," he growled suddenly as his hands wrapped themselves up into a fist. The golden-eyed boy silently gasped from the second that he mentioned the _both_ of them. "If they think we're some type of tool for their sakes, whatever it might be, they have another thing coming to them. They keep insisting that they're part of the light of this world, then we have no choice but to join forces with the darkness if we're going to change their ways!"

"C-Change their ways?"

The black-haired boy swung an arm outwards to the side. "If our light doesn't exist, we just have to make our own source of justice! I'm tired of waiting for someone else's justice! I'm sure that you feel the same way, right!? That must be why the shadows have lured you here to me!"

The golden-eyed boy was starting to look forwards as the tears were mere trinkles down his face. His breath was taken away from the dynamic speech of this mysterious boy he met merely a few minutes ago.

"Worry not! With our teamwork, we'll face the wicked injustice that the others can't see!"

His body felt light as he heard these ironically bright words, regardless if they were speaking from the darkness. Though, it may have been the sole reason he could ever understand this light, stemming from the same shadows that he was pushed into head-first without a warning.

Perhaps it was the familiar blue eyes.

Not in colour, but there was a feeling of semblance below the surface, as if they both were suffering from a world they didn't understand and was chained up from the inside out.

He forgot how it felt to smile, but he found himself laughing.

The shackles started to fall off.

"Then what do you think we should do?"

The black-haired boy smirked, sensing that the mood was lifted back up. "Ah, so you're interested in the offer!? The shadows have done well to bring you here and together, we'll change this stupid world! If they want to change us, the only thing we can do is try to change them! No matter what it takes!"

"Would that be… justice?"

"Call it whatever you want! The path of the righteousness has many names!"

The two boys stared at each other silently before they both bursted out in a contented chuckle. He didn't know when the tears were converted into ones of genuine happiness, but he was finally glad that there existed some person out there who wanted to stand beside him, rather than on top of him.

"So what's your name?" the golden-haired boy asked.

The black-haired boy turned and climbed up on the large rock to let the moon's light act as his backdrop, striking one more pose with his finger pointed straight into the air. He pulled it down after a powerful pause and pointed right to the golden-haired boy.

"Breathing in the shadows! Darker than black! The figure that was rejected by the world when he discovered their true nature! I am the heaven's tree that has descended into the darkness out of fate and choice! As my new comrade, you shall remember my name well!"

The bandages on his arm started to become undone as he pointed to himself. A mysterious breeze came to be called as it rushed past the golden-haired boy and up towards the stage, flickering the black clothing in a breathtaking scene.

"My name is Ren Amaki! Now let the shadows of the earth hear your name, my new _friend_!"

The boy smiled widely at the term he hadn't heard as a reference to him until this fated encounter landed in his lap. It sounded nice.

"_My name is—_"

* * *

**)**—**(\**IV**| Chapter 1-20 |**IV**/)|**—**(  
)\\( Those With Tainted Wings )/(**

* * *

"—_Itsuki_. Oi, Sir Itsuki! Wake up already, we're here!"

Itsuki groaned as he felt a stick being poked at his stomach. His eyes started to clear up as he rubbed them, seeing that the carriage they were riding had come to a stop. He honestly didn't know when he dozed off or why he even slept in the first place; he remembered getting a decent amount of sleep last night, but it was a bit hard to count without a proper clock.

He was sitting in the back of the carriage as Welst had been standing by the back, extending his staff to lazily make attempts on the awakening. Itsuki broke out a yawn and an outwards stretch as the mage pulled back his harmless weapon.

"Took you long enough, Sir Itsuki. I didn't take you as a heavy sleeper."

"I'm usually not. I must have missed a few hours last night" he dragged on, clearing out the last few yawns out of his system. "Anyways, I didn't mean to doze off on such a short ride. Are we here?"

"Yeah, everyone's just waiting on you. Kojeel and Mald already headed inside."

As Itsuki jumped off the back, he could see the main building of the premises before him as the front steps allured visitors to take a breath instead of climbing them first. It was a bit bigger than the manors that he had already seen through his time in Melromarc, but he couldn't help but to look around.

The main shape, judging from his position, had been formed in a curve, surrounding the roundabout pathway that their carriage used to arrive at the doors. The pathway led downwards on an incline to the gate where past the iron bars and stone walls as the rest of the bustling town travelled among their daily lives. In the middle of the roundabout, an odd monument stood tall with marked inscriptions to which he couldn't read. It was probably some type of noble decoration like gnomes on a garden, so he didn't pay much attention to it.

He would admit that there was some type of ominous feeling to it based on its unusual and yet sleek design.

A butler walked up to Welst and Itsuki and cleared his throat to get their attention. In the meanwhile, the carriage started to move away, noticing that there was someone new handling the horses instead of Kojeel. The uniformed man rode it over to the side of the manor where Itsuki could barely see a garage-like stable around the corner.

"May we proceed?" the butler asked, showing them to the stairs. "The governor is expecting you."

"Please lead the way."

The interior had been as dazzling as the outside, built like it was supposed to be a display of the noble's wealth. The walls and columns had seemed like they were personally sculpted by an artist with how the skirting boards were formed. The instinctive details were pulled over to the paintings and statues that were presented in high respects as if they were trying to show that they were evidently more expensive than the visitors.

He could even see each of the five floors from the zigzagging staircases down the center of the room. The stairs would scale up to the next floor's hallway before continuing upwards on the other side until it reached the top. It was an interesting design that added to the extravagance of the front room, but if it hadn't been already clear, this noble was very rich.

As they followed the butler, Itsuki looked out all the windows that they passed, admiring the view of the town. With nothing else to do, he quickly checked his stats again.

**[Itsuki Kawasumi]  
Class : Bow Hero LV21**

**[Job Levels]  
Attack LV3 14/25  
Magic LV2 10/11**

**(…)**

He couldn't shake away what happened more than a week ago where he had his meeting with the mysterious figure named Metatron and lost all of his stats so suddenly. He wanted to say that Metatron had done something to him, but when he returned to the campsite and woke up the next morning, ready to explain his strength's disappearance. However, he was surprised to see that they were all back, as if they hadn't left in the first place, so he never said anything about it.

He didn't exactly know what triggered it and over the last few days, he kept wondering what had happened.

They went on to clear up the quest that was originally given to them by the guild, being thanked by the village chief. The bandits hadn't been much of a problem for them as they were able to clear out the goons and wiped out the leader without much difficulty.

As a result, they were unexpectedly presented with a gift from the village chief, being the carriage and two horses, though they were part of the things that were taken away from the bandits. The carriage was fixed up a bit for their convenience and considering that Kojeel knew how to handle horses already, that made for a worthwhile pick-up.

However, they made a stop during a particular town where Itsuki overheard a conversation about the town's dire situation at the inn. Originally, they were supposed to use this town as a place to rest and stock up for the journey back to the capital, but the hero proposed that they investigated the problem at the civilians' hands.

There was the side that genuinely wanted to help these people out, but the topic of the problem had been quite interesting to him. He politely joined into the conversation and gathered what he could collect from them, but it didn't resort to much other than the hook. Apparently, all details were to be reported to the presiding governor of the territory and that was the reason as to why they were here.

And yet, throughout all of those events, his stats never bothered to disappear on him like before.

The only clue that remained in his memory were the extra notifications that appeared when he lost his stats. Not even the help menus said anything about the incident, despite the aloof girl telling him something about the act being a tutorial.

It mentioned something about a transfer over to Ren, the Sword Hero, but even through his attempts of trying to parse through other game mechanics, none of them really matched with what he experienced.

It was probably better to think of it as a glitch, but it was too odd for him to consider it as that.

"Hey, Sir Itsuki." Welst's call to him snapped him out of his trance of recollection. "Your feet stopped moving. You've been spacing out a considerable amount lately. Is everything alright?"

Itsuki gulped and wryly chuckled. "N-No, there isn't anything wrong. I'm probably getting a bit homesick, that's all." It certainly wasn't the truth, but it was a valid feeling that was sinking near his heart. "I think I need a few more weeks to get used to this whole lifestyle of an adventurer."

"Don't take too long. You need to be able to… do your job, right?"

"Yeah, of course."

Itsuki had requested that his allies would not speak much about his status of being the Bow Hero. He didn't like having his name being spreaded around in such a loud manner and besides, if the wicked ever heard that he was around, then it would escape without the chance of subjugation or judgement. It was always better to lay low and watch for evil to strike.

They proceeded down the hall as the butler stopped before a set of closed doors. He knocked on the door a few times before a voice called him in, granting the permission to push open the doors for Itsuki and Welst to step inside.

Within the room, there was something Itsuki would recognize as an office space. A desk were present within the back-center area as seats were prepared between them, facing towards the other with none exactly pointing to the back wall. Though, the back wall had mostly glass which allowed for the bright sunlight to seep through and a perfect overview of the entire town. This was merely the third floor, so Itsuki could only imagine the sights seen on the fifth.

In the seats, both Mald and Kojeel were already sitting down with tea prepared by the present servants.

Behind the desk, Itsuki could only assume that man to be the governor that they were looking for. He was a middle-aged man with a disheveled hairstyle, messier than Motoyasu's hair when he wakes up from a good night's sleep. His eyes were rather small alongside that odd attempt at a mustache, but he kept up the intimidating appearance regardless with his elegantly dressed clothing of black and purple and having white frills around his neck.

He couldn't explain why he was getting bad vibes from this man, but he bowed as did Welst.

"Sorry for our delay."

"There hasn't been much discussion of the main topic so far," Kojeel responded. "We've been waiting on our leader as the representative here. You were the one interested in pursuing the issue, right?"

Itsuki and Welst walked up as the mage sat next to Kojeel while giving Mald a dirty look. It didn't matter how well their cooperation was on the battlefield; their personalities had always clashed regardless and Itsuki was starting to think it was a fruitless endeavor to pursue teamwork outside of battle.

As Itsuki took his seat next to Mald, the governor smirked at him.

"My my." There was a pompous tone in his voice. "And here I thought I was going to throw everyone out if the identity was wrong, but it ended up being correct. I'm quite pleased to have the Legendary Bow Hero within my estate."

Itsuki stiffened his spine as he glared at both party members, only to realize that they had been surprised too.

"We made no mention of Sir Itsuki's identity," Mald defiantly stated towards the governor. "How were you able to know that detail without our words? Did you look into our identities when we entered the town? That doesn't seem like something a governor should do all of a sudden."

"I'm quite curious too," Kojeel said. "Nothing we said allured to the fact that the person leading our group was the Bow Hero. You dug background information on us for whatever reason."

The governor merely laughed. "I certainly have my methods, but never mind that. If you were trying to keep it a secret from me, don't even bother. My connections are strong enough to overlook your barriers, though I am willing to see that you could be trying to hide your leader's identity." He slammed his hand on the desk as if to daunt them. "I'll keep this a secret between us, so be grateful."

Itsuki didn't know how he felt about immediately being in debt within the few minutes of meeting someone, but before he could mutter a word, Kojeel had stepped in front of the line.

"I see. We have your thanks."

"If the governor of this land already knows my identity, I guess I should introduce myself properly." Itsuki placed a hand on his chest. "My name is Itsuki Kawasumi, one of the Cardinal Heroes summoned to this world. Could we have a name to refer to you by?"

The governor glared at Kojeel, giving her a silent order that she had understood somehow. She held out her hand towards the governor and it became clear that she was going to be the one presenting him.

"He is the governor of this territory, Lord Idol Rabier."

"Idol Rabier…"

Itsuki mulled the name in his head, but he noticed in his peripheral that Welst's expressions had whitened.

"W-Wait! The same Idol Rabier from the Siltvelt War!?"

"Was he someone important?"

"He was one of the leading commanders for one of the main plans and from what I remember, he was also one of the youngest commanders enlisted during the war."

"Ah yes, I remember those days where the cursed demi-humans tried to steal away my life." His hand crumpled into a fist and slammed hard against the desk again. This time, it had been quite hard and yet, less intentional. "Can't do anything about it now. I'm merely glad we were able to put those cursed demi-humans in their place. Serves them right. We wouldn't have been able to wrap it up nicely without that good ol' duo."

"With due respect, we should save the history lessons for later," Mald interrupted. "Our leader came here for a reason and that was to talk to you about an issue in the town."

"An issue in the town, you say?"

Itsuki leaned forward from his seat to project his voice clearly.

"I overheard a conversation between two of your civilians about the recent monster attack on the town. From my understanding, they came during the night and injured some of the people that were out on the streets and escaped before anybody was able to catch it. From eyewitnesses, they said that the monsters were rather similar to what monsters they had heard about from the first wave of destruction and as a Cardinal Hero, I wanted to investigate that."

"Monsters from the waves?" Rabier scrunched his eyebrows. "In my territory?"

"W-What!?" Itsuki stood up in surprise from the governor's lackluster reaction. "H-How have you not heard about the monsters!? Haven't the townsfolk come to tell you about it!?"

"I'm a very busy man, Sir Bow Hero! Being a governor is no easy task!" he shouted back in a snarl. "If I had to listen to every single person's requests, I would get nowhere with managing the land! Don't think you're superior to me at my job just because you're a Cardinal Hero!"

"That's not what I was—!"

Rabier's groan interrupted Itsuki's attempt at a rebuttal and if it hadn't been that, Kojeel's hand was already moving inwards to stop him from speaking anymore. A silent leer told him that he should probably bite his tongue before he said anything further.

"Regardless, I already heard about their issues surrounding that. I was planning on letting the knights themselves fix the problem, but an unfortunate incident happened in the capital that's left them on edge. If you want to lend some assistance in the job, you're free to do so. I'll even let you use the guest rooms here as a part of my thanks, but in that regard, don't expect a significant payment of some sort. Frankly, I might be considering not paying in the first place."

"W-What!?" Welst gasped. "A-Are you cheaping out on us!?"

"You folks came _to me_. I never asked for assistance, so I don't see the reason as to why I should cough up money for dirty adventurers. The only reason I even _considered_ letting you tw—three step into my office is that the Bow Hero is your leader. Only by proxy, you haven't been kicked out yet."

"Then shouldn't we receive _some_ type of payment here!?"

"To let you know, the rooms I'm allowing you to stay at cost much more than what a mere inn would require you to pay per day and certainly more than what you would make in an entire month. As a bargain, you can stay here for free until the problem is solved. If anything, you should be _thanking _me."

"B-But—!"

Kojeel immediately slapped her hand on his mouth, blocking the rest into mumbling noises while she looked over to Itsuki.

"Sir Itsuki? Do you think these conditions are acceptable?"

Honestly, Itsuki hadn't been thinking of the money he could gain from this. The information he could collect from the monsters could be well worth the trade, not to mention the unexpected offer of temporary residence at a place equivalent to the castle.

"That should be fine. No payment is necessary."

Welst's confused noise was muffled through Kojeel's firm grip over his mouth.

"Don't make things worse here, you stupid mage," Mald growled. "All you have to do is follow what Sir Itsuki says and it'll be fine."

Welst's muffling was converted into a tiger's growl with pierce death stares at the armoured party member. However, a quick tightening by Kojeel transitioned it into a whimper then silence as Itsuki tried to ignore what was happening next to him.

"So where are these monsters? We'll investigate the area as soon as possible and try to hunt them down by tomorrow."

"Actually, there's a small problem with that."

"What is it?"

Rabier sighed and stood up from his seat, waddling over slowly to the windows behind him. He looked into the town that was acting as his backdrop as Itsuki noticed that he had two weapons on his belt, a whip and a sword. The latter looked rather familiar as a decorative blade more than anything.

"We have no information as to the whereabouts of their nest."

"Huh!?"

"As you mentioned, the attack happened at night. There was no feasible way for the present knights to chase them into the darkness blindly. Hopefully, extra knights would be soon provided to me from the king and we can determine where they are. So far though, it doesn't seem like something we should actively pursue."

"Then what are we supposed to do until then!?"

"I've already given you my offer and it still stands. Tell you what." Rabier turned around his head to face the standing Itsuki. "I predict that the monsters will strike once more before the extra knights are able to be dispatched to my territory. You can use that chance to figure out where they are all retreating to."

Welst managed to pull himself out from Kojeel's hand and spat out his concerning thoughts.

"Wait, doesn't that mean you're actively using the town as bait!?"

"Whatever gets the job done."

Itsuki and Welst couldn't believe their ears.

"T-That's insane!"

"Lord Rabier has a point though," Kojeel responded, surprising the both of them. "If we try and search for the monster without any major leads, it's essentially looking for a needle in a stack of hay. By the time the monsters come to attack once more, we would be no closer to finding their nest to prevent another attack. The attack would most likely be unavoidable, so we might as well plan around it."

Hearing it from a rational perspective, Itsuki felt conflicted. He seriously didn't want to use those innocent civilians as bait, but to be fair, if the proper preparations were taken, they could probably keep people safe while doing their task. He made a defeated sigh upon his realization.

"Is that enough noise out of you?" Rabier turned his head back to the window, as if he was already finished with the conversation. "As I mentioned, I'm a very busy man, so I would deeply appreciate it if you would finish up this conversation and leave for your rooms. The servants will guide you over accordingly and perhaps, if I am in the mood, I will invite you to have dinner with me. Be on your best behaviour until then."

Itsuki sincerely didn't like the vibes that Idol Rabier was sending off.

He didn't want to say that he was tipped off by the appearance or the attitude, but at the same time, they were all part of what a normal side-villain in a story would seem like. He didn't have much evidence on the noble, but he was starting to tick off all of the boxes except for any solid evidence of being such a terrible person.

"Thanks, Idol."

"That's _Lord Rabier_ to you, Sir Bow Hero. Act a bit like the friend you sent in before you came in and you might find your life expectancy to be much longer."

That felt like a straight-up threat from disrespecting him, but Kojeel was landing her visual daggers on his back to be as deep as possible and it would be stupid of him to ignore such a warning.

"Y-Yes, Lord Rabier."

That drew the line for him.

He knew that preparations needed to be made, but while he waited for the monster to show up, he could probably search around for another thing to uncover. During his free time, he wanted to figure out if they were committing any types of evil behind their backs. Accusing people of unsavory behavior wasn't enough, but from personal experience, one usually meant the other.

If so, Rabier could serve as a little practice for things to come.

He did remember that slave trader talking about how some nobles were his customers, after all.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

"So you got nothing on him…"

Welst sighed as he walked behind Itsuki through the streets.

The town clearly wasn't as big as the capital, but walking through the streets gave him the perception that he was in such an environment. The shops had been similar and the townsfolk had been working the same way, trying to come to an end's meet. From how they spoke, they really had no serious opinions with Rabier as their governor, meaning that he hadn't been doing anything outstanding that could be confronted on. There had been a few things that the residents were ill-contented about, but Rabier himself admitted that he wasn't listening to every single problem for the sake of time-management.

In other words, his plan landed in a bust.

Welst wanted to go along with Itsuki, even after he explained what he was trying to do. He provided something akin to a supportive role, keenly looking out the amissed. He kept himself mostly silent when talking with the people, letting Itsuki feel to try and vocally muscle through any leverage against Rabier.

On the other hand, Mald had remained in his room while Kojeel went on her own stroll through the town. Considering how serious he had been during their meeting, both of them knew that if Kojeel were to know that they were trying to mark Rabier as a villain, she would immediately put a stop on their plans. However, if they were to find good evidence, they could potentially win her over.

Though, there had to be evidence for that to happen.

Luckily, she wasn't encountered in their investigation.

They were coming close to returning to the manor since Rabier decided that he _would_ invite them to dinner and the natural lights were approaching their end.

"Still though," Welst continued his thought, "Lord Rabier really let himself go."

"Did he have a better attitude in the past?"

"I wouldn't know. The stories about the Siltvelt War don't take into account the personalities of everyone, but I would imagine that they stayed relatively the same if Lord Aldrecht is to be taken as an example." Welst started slapping his stomach, sneering as he did. "I'm talking about his actual _size_. He was definitely much thinner back in the day, no doubt about it. Being a governor probably injected the high life in that brain of his."

"Well, commander of a past war or not, that doesn't excuse the way he's treating me," Itsuki growled, clenching his fist. "He should have kept that sour attitude in that back pocket of his or else I wouldn't be trying to dig up any possible evil from his other pockets."

"What makes you so sure that Lord Rabier is up to no good?"

"Just call it intuition and… _experience_."

"... Sir Itsuki?"

Itsuki grimaced as he spoke; Welst's breath tightened upon noticing his reaction. "Look, I've met people like Rabier before and all they want to do is push you into the ground until only your head is sticking out. They're all capable of evil and I wouldn't be surprised if Rabier is doing the same, but unlike my past, I can actually do something about this if there's anything worth chasing about him."

"Oi, Sir Itsuki? You're doing alright?"

Itsuki sighed, holding his fist next to his heart. "Sorry, just… bad memories," he said, shaking his head. "It's nothing worth talking about since it's all in the past, especially when I'm a hero inside another world. That's two layers on top of that unnecessary topic."

"I feel like I should remind you that, regardless on how Lord Rabier acts, I guess he's still the governor of this territory. He has a solid amount of power under his thumb and if we do dig something up from his shadows, you can be sure that he'll be prepared with a counter strike. He wasn't a good tactician like the king, but he certainly can get the job done."

"It doesn't matter. Heroes always stand back up on top if they're against evil." Itsuki gritted his teeth. "I'll make sure of it. I'll correct any injustice that exists in this world. If I can't do something as simple as that, there's no way that I could…"

Itsuki was about to say something about Naofumi's trial, but he managed to catch himself before revealing any type of intimacy with the Shield Hero. To the group, Naofumi was still regarded as a criminal and even as Welst had his outspoken doubts, there was little reason to tell him that he and Naofumi, alongside the rest of the heroes, came from the same world.

After all, that was Zellus' recommendation on how to avoid the Church of Three Heroes.

"Huh?" Welst's confused grunt pulled Itsuki away from thought and caused him to look up. "What's going on at the front?"

Itsuki could see a large carriage being pulled out from the front gate. The size suggested that it was carrying large cargo and the lack of details along the sides added to that clue. Before he could determine any other ideas, it stopped as the handler of the horses had gone to speak with one of the knights guarding the entrance.

However, Itsuki's eyes were finally able to roll onto the short man that had been departing from the premises and his heart skipped a beat upon his realization.

"W-What the hell is _he _doing here!?"

He would never forget that creepy smile.

He wanted to run up and strike that man in the face, but the reminder of what happened last time emerged in his head. Despite that, he really didn't want _Beloukas _to be getting the last laugh here.

"Welst, follow me!"

"W-What's happening!?"

"Just be quiet and follow me!"

Clicking his tongue, Itsuki ducked into a nearby alleyway and peeked out from the corner. Welst tried to do the same, but without knowing the entire context behind the situation, he was completely lost on the matter and staggered behind the Bow Hero's seemingly erratic behaviour.

Itsuki could barely hear the words, but they were speaking rather quietly. There wasn't a way to get closer to hear everything, but if he could simply gather some of the words, he could piece together something feasible.

He then remembered about some of the bows he unlocked during their journey. He never thought he needed such a bow and was planning to let it sit among his vast amount of forms, but this was probably one of those perfect times to use it.

**[Black Cavern Bat Bow] 0/15 C  
(Equip Bonus) : Agility 1  
(Special Effect) : Listening Ability 1  
(Mastery Level) : 0  
(Item Enhancement) : LV0**

Upon changing bows, he felt like his ears popped for a second before the conversation between the slave trader and the knight sounded much clearer. It was rather amazing how different bows could increase some of his physical abilities, but this wasn't the time to be impressed.

He leaned further out to get the best range and honed in on the continuing conversation.

"—_and so, you should make sure that Rabier doesn't end up with another dead slave. I've warned him before about how the rental slaves worked and if he continues to ignore my warnings, the next dead slave will certainly be his last one from me, indeed._"

"_I'm sorry, Mister Beloukas. We've been trying to remind Lord Rabier, but he won't listen to us._"

"_Then do a better job! Indeed, I would have less of a problem if he immediately paid up as per the contract said, but it's been weeks, maybe a month, after that first one was killed!_"

"_Personally, I'm not going to take the fall for those demi-humans. If any of us interrupt Lord Rabier as he's disciplining the slaves, we know that there's a chance for him to turn onto us and to be frank, being a guard for his manor pays well otherwise. All we have to do is wag our tails when Lord Rabier says so._"

"_It's bad for the business, indeed! I'm only asking this once since I know Rabier isn't going to be fond of losing our partnership. If that happens, you'll know who he'll move onto, indeed._"

"_O-Oh, I see what you're trying to say._"

"_That's a smart boy. Now, I'll be on my way and I don't want to see another dead slave when I return._"

The carriage started to move away.

"_Of course, Mister Beloukas. Have a safe journey back to the capital._"

As the carriage moved down the streets and out from their perspective, Itsuki walked out from the hiding place while transforming his bow back to normal. Welst still didn't understand what happened as he noticed Itsuki's body trembling.

"I think we have a jackpot," Itsuki said coldly.

"Hold up, I'm still lost." Welst managed to step in front of Itsuki before he could move onwards to the gate. He staggered a bit, seeing an intense glare sweep over his way. "Mind filling in a few details here, Sir Itsuki?"

Itsuki pointed to where the carriage was. "That man that just left Rabier's manor was a slave trader and something tells me that he wasn't simply here to say some salutations. I met him back in the capital and that was the reason why I brought up the whole slave thing in the first place."

"And how is that a jackpot?"

"How is it not!?"

Itsuki stomped his foot forward, causing Welst to flinch instinctively. He raised his arms in a defensive manner, just in case his leader wanted to take another step. He tried to stick his words in before Itsuki could ramble on.

"Have you forgotten what Kojeel was talking about that day? You can't be in the right if everything that they're doing is legal."

"Then I'll fix it by myself and show you that this system of your land is flawed."

"I know it's flawed, but it's not worth the risk. Regardless of what I say, demi-humans will always be seen as the lower species by Melromarc."

"There could be a life that's desperately hanging on for dear life within Rabier's iron grip and you're telling him that it's not worth the risk to save someone that needs help? They're waiting for someone to come save them from their misery! Hoping endlessly and trudging through their own despair!"

Itsuki's sudden shouting gathered some attention from the passersby, but not enough to warrant their full stop. Welst winced, thanking that no one had been listening too avidly to what Itsuki had said, but closing in to try and lower their voices.

"Look, we can go off and continue searching for anything unlawful that Rabier has done tomorrow. Demi-human slavery isn't a crime, for the time, and we can't confront him for such a thing. There might be easier things to cover like the generic embezzlement or inefficient job handling with false reporting to the capital."

"Those are much easier to cover _up_ though."

"I'm sure we'll find _some_ type of evidence for that to dish out pain to that stuck-up veteran if he acts like such a… _such a Mald_." Welst silently patted himself on the shoulder for finally using that insult, but the mood couldn't match with the expectations. "If I were in your shoes, I'd ignore it."

"If you were in my shoes, you _couldn't_," he growled back, causing Welst to quietly hold himself back. "I can't ignore the possibility that there are slaves suffering in the same building as I'm sleeping in. Regardless, I need to see this issue for myself."

Itsuki pushed Welst out of the way, though he certainly wasn't using his full strength to stop the Bow Hero. It was more like Welst stepping out of the way than a push, as the mage watched him walk with his discomforted expression.

"_Sir Itsuki_…"

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

Dinner was served accordingly as Rabier said, but Itsuki couldn't bring himself to look at the fat noble in his disgusting face. Despite what he said to Welst earlier, he couldn't outright ask Rabier without confirming the slaves as he tried to merely focus on eating silently, only speaking what needed to be said. Rabier was insistent on having conversations and it took most of his energy to not stand up to leave.

The food wasn't even that good to begin with; it was the same meal that Rabier had been sumptuously chowing down on and it had appealed to his party members. He couldn't tell if Kojeel had been enjoying it though considering he couldn't get a read on her, but she ate the meal indifferently. He, on the other hand, would have ranked it many levels below Naofumi's cooking, despite the beautiful appearance and seasoning of the steak.

Once he was finished, he left as quickly as possible.

Rabier revealed that he was going to be stuck in his office until midnight, trying to finish up the required paperwork, as a passing topic of how busy he was going to be. That instance became perfect, giving him the window of opportunity to go snooping around for where the slaves could be.

The bonus point came when Kojeel told Itsuki that she was going for another stroll. The last time had been for private business, but given the risen moon in the skies, she thought it would have been a nice time to stroll through the town while having her smoke. He felt like Kojeel would always go about the towns they visit by herself whenever they had spare time, but what she did in those moments were of no relevance to him; as long as she returned in time, it barely mattered.

Mald and Welst decided to call it a day and headed to their rooms, being escorted by the guards. As it would seem, Rabier was trying to keep an eye on their movements by proxy, given the fact that a guard was also assigned to him, even when he was pretending to waste time, sitting out on the front steps to look up to the stars.

"You can leave now," he attempted to dismiss. "I'll be back in my room in an hour. Could I not have some privacy for myself?"

"The only place Lord Rabier had permitted for you to be alone is your assigned room, Lord Itsuki. If you wish to see the stars, you are allowed to open up the windows for a better view. You would be higher up on the fifth floor, so you would have a closer sight."

'_As if a few extra floors is going to be a better experience for star-gazing._'

There was no way that Itsuki could do anything once he was in his room. If the guest rooms were around the second floor, he could have tried to jump out the window as a method of losing the guard, but from the fifth floor, he would be shattering his legs.

"Is there a reason why you have to keep watching me? I'm not going to be doing anything terrible."

"I'm simply following orders from Lord Rabier. I personally have enough trust in the Great Bow Hero, but perhaps the governor has assigned me to you as another layer of personal protection on top of your party members. I can't say for certain, but I would be inclined to believe that."

Itsuki thought he was trying to pull some empathy cards from his hand to cause him to not suspect anything out of the ordinary. By making the middleman seemingly more natural, Rabier could hide the strict security notion under the rug, but Itsuki was obviously not buying it.

By process of assumptions and experience from other games, enslaved people would either be forced to work in the open and trapped in the basement from a building. On that logic, all he had to do was sweep the first floor for the sublevel and he'll be able to discover them.

Though, that did present a difficult task of trying to lose this guard.

He didn't think the man would appreciate the Bow Hero sticking his nose into places where it didn't belong, but he couldn't think of a good way to shake him off.

"He already has enough personal protection from us."

Itsuki heard Welst's voice, turning around alongside the guard to his mage who had been standing behind them. However, there was a distinct lack of an assigned guard as he walked closer to them.

"Wasn't someone supposed to be watching over you?" the guard asked skeptically.

"He was apparently call to meet Lord Rabier for… something; I don't know, it wasn't my orders, so I didn't pay much attention to it," Welst said, scratching the back of his head. "Someone was supposed to take over, but it took a while to wait, so I came here to get two birds down with one stone."

"I'll go find someone to provide protection for—"

"Though, I'm surprised that you're still here," Welst said, rubbing his chin. "I thought that little meeting with Lord Rabier was something between all the active guards for us. That's what my assigned guard mentioned."

"I-I didn't hear anything about that!"

"Well, you should go up and check. Don't worry about us, I'll take care of Sir Itsuki while we wait on everyone. There's not a lot of places we can go anyways. Despite being a big manor, there's surprisingly little we can do. No wonder one of my allies keeps disappearing into the town; she must have been bored."

"A-Are you sure?"

"Why wouldn't I be sure? I literally heard about it a few minutes ago."

The guard looked over to Itsuki before turning back to Welst, nodding.

"A-Alright. But you two stay put while I go check up on Lord Rabier in his office and see what he wants. I'll be back down in a few minutes."

"Again, there's not much else to do."

The guard started running up the stairs and despite still being able to see him, Welst walked up closer to the Bow Hero, crossing his arms with a defeated sigh.

"There. Let's go search for the slaves."

"Huh?" Itsuki stood up from the steps in surprise, realizing that Welst had been lying the entire time. He probably didn't want to ask what happened to his assigned guard anyways. "Didn't you mention that we should chase other possible crimes that Rabier has done?"

"Even if I said that, you would have tried to insist on this one, right? I noticed how many death stares you were handing Lord Rabier on a silver platter during dinner."

"Was it that obvious?"

"Not too obvious that Lord Rabier could notice."

"Though, I don't think we can check up on the entire perimeter in a few minutes."

"No need. I already went ahead and got a good idea where the basement might be. That's where they usually keep the prisons, as far as I know." Welst started walking back into the manor as the guard disappeared onto the third floor. "I need to leave now. You want to see the slaves for yourself, right?"

Itsuki was pleasantly surprised that Welst had already got everything finished up. He didn't know what caused such a turnabout of decisions, but he wasn't going to question it. He walked quickly to match Welst as they turned the corner to move down the hallways.

Some of the staff weren't paying much attention to them, either giving mere salutations out of respect or ignoring them to tend to their current jobs. They definitely weren't arousing any suspicions from them as they went deeper into the manor until Welst pointed out a specific door.

"It's that one, but…" Welst grimaced as they came closer. "When I walked around here, there were two guard protecting this door and they were making sure nothing would get in or out. It looked important, so for there to be no one here… And here I was, trying to come with with a crazy amount of excuses."

"Regardless, we take the opportunity."

Itsuki didn't hesitate to open the door, easily turning the knob to see a downwards staircase be revealed behind it. It was dimly lit and less polished than the rest of the manner to such a point where Itsuki had doubts whether they were even part of the same building or not.

Nevertheless, he started walking down the steps, leaving Welst to double-check their surroundings for anybody before following, closing the door behind them. It was definitely dark without the lights emerging from the main hallways, but Welst's fire magic gave enough vision to not fall over the stairs.

The pathway took a while to descend, as if it was preparing for the dramatic reveal, but Itsuki could feel his chest getting tighter every passing moment. The memory of those suffering with the slave trader's tent were burning in his mind. If there were more people like Raphtalia being imprisoned against their will and being mistreated horribly, that was only more of a reason to save them.

His falling footsteps finally stopped on a grounded level as a silent stench started to fill the air. Welst had flinched before the smell, while Itsuki didn't. He was much too concerned with the running implications of the odor. For Rabier's sake, Itsuki better have not found what he thought the source was, but considering the iron-barred prison layout, Rabier was most likely already dead in his eyes.

They slowly walked through the basement as coughs and subtle noises started to become clearer to his ears. The smell started to get stronger until he finally got to see them.

There were definitely slaves here.

Malnourished, bruised, filled up with despair.

They all looked up to the mysterious newcomer before they glanced away, minding their own business. It was either that, or they were so stuck inside their little world of pain that they didn't even realize that he arrived.

"... This is messed up," Itsuki growled.

"Friendly reminder that it's legal to keep them like this," Welst said. "Your only hope of busting this thing is hoping that Lord Rabier is keeping a human slave throughout all these demi-humans. It's pretty disgusting to see these slaves in such a state, but I guess I'm a bit dulled out to this."

"We have to break them out."

"Oi!" Welst grabbed Itsuki's shoulder, preventing him from running. "You said you wanted to see them, right!? You said nothing about breaking them out! That would cause problems on another level entirely!"

"What's the difference here!?"

"You would be the one performing illegal acts! There's a law within Melromarc against stealing the property of another person."

"They. Aren't. _Property_."

"Well, try your best to argue that to the Melromarcian Knights! I would _love _to see that!"

"Are you suggesting that I forget about this then!? I can't just leave them here to die!" Itsuki shook off Welst's grip and faced him. "I know what I heard from that damned slave trader as he left the manor. Rabier is doing something to these slaves that is getting them killed and considering the fact that I haven't seen a single slave up on the main floors or anywhere else, that only means that their lives are confined to here."

Welst silently frowned as Itsuki went on. He already knew what conclusion his leader had made and frankly, it was something he already knew about. He knew it would give much discomfort to him, considering how much he cared about their well-being back in the capital.

"For some reason, they're being tortured here. And it sounds like it's all random selection!"

Itsuki turned to a prison and tried to break the locks on it with a strong attack. The slave that was inside noticed, but was scared by the pull-back on his bow. However, before he could shoot his arrow, Welst extended his hand to stop him.

"It won't matter anyways."

"W-Why!?"

"If they're slaves, they likely have a slave crest assigned to Lord Rabier."

Itsuki clicked his tongue, remembering what happened to Raphtalia back at the slave trader. Beloukas snapped his fingers and caused her to experience pain for simply disobeying the instructions. He didn't say much more than what was needed, but the fact of the matter was that they couldn't disregard Rabier's words or else they would end up dying.

And yet, he didn't want to listen.

It was clear each of them were here without their accordance, being stamped with a life that was thrusted onto them. He could see it in their eyes—those _rather familiar eyes_, the ones that wait for freedom and justice, but could never attain it.

Itsuki lowered his bow, much to Welst's relief, but he started to scan the rest of the prisons down the hall.

That's when he noticed that one of the cells was open, unlike all the others that were at the very most closed shut. His intuition had been wiggling and dragged him over as Welst silently followed him, glancing around for any human slaves. He could hear the solitude's footstep echoing as the stretch somehow got stronger.

Something was rotting.

He turned the corner to see what was inside the opened cell and widened his eyes to see what had been waiting for him. Itsuki almost wanted to puke on its sheer sight as shivers were thrusted onto his spine. He didn't want to believe what he was seeing, but it was definitely the last straw that broke him.

There was a small girl, about Raphtalia's own age, laying still on the ground. Similarly, there were ears in the shape of a weasel's on her head, but that was about all Itsuki could register. Her eyes were blank and her skin was cold, not to mention the shriveled surface.

Welst quickly stepped inside the cell to check up on the girl, following Itsuki's shock to check up on her condition, but it was obvious from a glance what happened. Added to the context he gained from the slave trader's words and—

"She's been dead for a while," Welst said, standing back up. "Looks like the malnourishment got to her weeks ago, but the wounds she suffered from whip-like strikes weren't helping her out. I'm not too well-versed in autopsies, but that's the most I can manage from my experience. Poor girl was clinging on for dear life."

Itsuki recalled the whip weapon on Rabier's belt, tightening his anger, figuring this was the true purpose of that weapon instead of preparativeness.

"Unfortunately, she's a demi-human, so he could technically get away with this, as much as you might hate it. The man didn't even bother to move the body out," Welst sighed, glancing back to Itsuki's distress. "Let's hurry up with sweeping the area for a human slave. We probably don't want to be caught down here."

However, Itsuki walked forwards towards the girl and knelt down to her, running his fingers' middle phalanx against the surface. Quick autopsies may reveal one thing, but none of the physical analysis could ever stand a candle to how she must have felt receiving these nonsensical attacks. He would assume that a girl of her age was innocent, but simply guilty for existing.

His memories started to fog up his eyes.

They rang, his cries which were ignored. They hurt, the trauma he received.

There was no reason for innocent people to experience what he felt as a child and that was why he wanted to pursue justice against those who violated the basic code of human conduct. He couldn't take it anymore, nor was he going to let people like Rabier walk freely and continue his evil reign.

In a burst, Itsuki ran out of the cell, leaving Welst in the dust.

"S-Sir Itsuki!? W-Where are you going!?" Welst shouted out. He tried running after the quick archer, but the difference in clothing made it difficult to catch up with him. Like a flicker of a flame, Welst immediately realized what Itsuki's plan was. "H-Hold up, let's not do anything rash here! Sir Itsuki, let's think about this for a moment!"

Welst groaned as Itsuki reached the staircase first, blindly running up with a light source.

'_Damn it, this isn't good!_' Welst panicked, trying to at least keep the Bow Hero in his sights. '_If he confronts Lord Rabier about this, it's going to end up poorly for us, especially if he's in that mood! I have to stop him before we're the ones that end up here!_'

Itsuki stopped thinking, kicking his way through the closed door. One of the servants that was passing by had a shrilled fright, but after scanning the area left-to-right, he ran down the hall, reaching the staircase quickly. Some of the other servants were staring at him oddly as he darted past them, but Itsuki didn't register that there had been no guards, waiting about.

Welst noticed it however, thinking some bad was going to happen, but he had to chase his leader down regardless of his gut feeling. He buckled himself up and ran faster than he expected to, but that wasn't enough catch up.

Itsuki ran up the zigzagging stairs and turned on the third floor as Welst just reached the second, trying to call out to him without any results other than a frantic mage.

Bringing himself down the hall and in front of the office, Itsuki didn't hesitate to bash open the double doors with his shoulder. With a riled voice, he shouted the few moments he got at the working governor.

"Idol Rabier! Answer me for your evil deeds! I can't let you—!"

Itsuki's voice stopped as he entered the room.

"L-Lord Rabier, this is just a misunderstanding! Sir Itsuki doesn't mean anything by his—!"

Welst slowed down, seeing that Itsuki had suddenly calmed down, but it only appeared to be as such. He was merely confused as Itsuki walked closer into the wide room, approaching the desk.

The empty desk.

Idol Rabier hadn't been here, despite saying that he was.

"Where the _hell _is he?" Itsuki growled. "Didn't he say that he was stuck doing paperwork!?"

"Maybe he's not here right now," Welst panted, walking up next to him. "In that case, we lucked out. Let's get out of here before we come across Lord Rabier returns."

"_And return, I shall_."

They both turned around to see Rabier standing at the doors and stepping inside slowly, as if he was expecting them. Welst tried his best to prevent Itsuki from baring his fangs, holding onto the Bow Hero tightly to prevent him from running up and slamming a fist in the governor.

"U-Uhm, we must have taken a wrong turn here, Lord Rabier…!" Welst nervously explained, sweating beyond belief. "S-Sorry for interrupting you! W-We'll be on our way!"

"We're not going anywhere, Welst."

Itsuki shook off Welst's handling and stomped a foot forwards.

"Idol Rabier! What's the meaning of the slaves being kept in the basement!?"

"So you've seen them?" Rabier laughed contentedly, as if he was ignoring the mood Itsuki was in. "Hmm, I was thinking about sprucing up the place a bit before allowing the Bow Hero to see such a wonderful display of demi-human suffering, as per the teachings of the Church of Three Heroes. The place must have smelled of dirty and undesirable demi-humans."

Itsuki swung up a clenched fist. "You thought I would enjoy something like that!? Like hell, I would have! Do you not feel anything when you're hurting them!?"

"Of course I do. I'm not heartless and everytime they suffer, I find amusement and happiness." He flaunted him with a cynical smile. "It's my personal service to praise the three Cardinal Heroes."

"Then you'll stop it if you know what's good for you."

"Unfortunately, I don't see a reason to listen."

Welst's face whitened. '_Oh, this is soooo not good._'

"Why not!? I'm the Bow Hero! Isn't the entire religion supposed to be revering me or something!?"

"Yes, we respect the _Bow Hero_."

Rabier snapped his finger as knights started to flood the room, cutting off all manners of escape. The strongly reinforced armour contrasted differently from the normal guards that were hanging around the manor before Itsuki noticed the emblem on their equipment; that being of the Church of Three Heroes. Both Itsuki and Welst backed off past the desk, seeing the sudden emergence.

"On the other hand, we don't respect allies of the Shield Demon. In fact, we _loathe_ them, even if they are people that wear the name of our heavenly gods. And that is what you are, an ally of the Shield Demon that is masking himself as one of our gods."

'_Huh? He know I'm friends with Naofumi!?_'

"And _therefore_, you tarnish our religion with your demonic mask and we'll happily _kill you _for the sake of the real Gods."

"Like hell you will!" Itsuki shouted. "You'll pay, Idol Rabier! For the blood spilt and the suffering of the enslaved!"

Rabier snapped his fingers once more, cowardly standing behind the array. Welst noticed that a few of the knights were starting to cast magic, muttering under their breaths. Without another choice, he stepped up with his staff spinning forwards and quickly fired off a spell to match.

'_Out of all the places to die…_'

"I am the source of my power! Burn up all that crosses my path! [Zweite Fire Barrier]!"

Flame broke out to block the incoming spells, but some of the attacks managed to break through, hitting Welst in a few places on his body. The attacks dropped him onto his knee, pushing on his staff to prevent him from falling any further.

"W-Welst!?"

"_D-Damn it…_" he winced. "_T-That stings…_"

Itsuki grunted, pulling back on his bow, but there were definitely too many of them to concentrate on. They covered the entire front wall, pushing them back to the window and he didn't have many tricks up his sleeve for such an encounter. Nevertheless, he wanted Rabier dead for his sins and the flames merely roared louder, resonating through his ears.

"Resisting like the demon that makes himself as the Sword Hero. It only makes sense, being allies of the Shield Demon."

Itsuki stared at Rabier in disbelief.

"The demon that… _What_?"

Itsuki gasped as his memories drew him a connection towards the fight that Metatron had shown him. Now that he thought about it, the books that were serving as the arena could have been matching the library that Ren had been talking about within the Church's building.

"The demon known as the 'Sword Hero' was taken care of already. The capital insisted on protecting him, but everyone all knows he's a demon. He destroyed the library of our main building of worship; no real God would have done such a thing to their follower and all we'll going to do is wait to applaud for his eventual execution."

'_Naofumi's been framed and Ren's been taken in to be killed…? And now, this? What the hell is going on!?_'

Itsuki tried to take a quick shot at Rabier's head through the knights, but one of them blocked the arrow, having it bounce off like dust on one's shoulder. Chills burned over his spine, realizing that they were way out of their league, but he desperately wanted to wipe out that disgusting smirk off Rabier's face.

"In service of the real Cardinal Heroes, it's time to end your pitiful existence and assure my place in heaven as the relinquisher of a demon. Justice will now be served."

Magic spells were being chanted by the knights with everything being pointed to them. Welst was in no position to perform another counter spell and Itsuki didn't have any tools to defend themselves against the incoming storm. He didn't know what else to do.

His feet stood frozen. His hands upon the bow shook.

Kojeel's words were starting to ring louder in his ears than before. In retrospect, he knew he ran into the situation blindly, but what else could he have done? His heart was telling him he should have done something, but it was that same heart that was fearing for his own life right now.

'_Was I going to die here?_'

Itsuki braced himself as the magic spells were fired off, but then—

—the sound of shattering glass emerged from behind them, causing Itsuki and Welst to turn around.

A figure emerged from the broken window and landed on the desk, smoothly transitioning into a jump to face the magic spells. They couldn't utter a single sound before the spell exploded against the figure, kicking up into a smoke.

"W-Who!?"

Rabier noticed the sudden appearance, but as the smoke cleared up, he noticed that it had been one of the Bow Hero's allies that broke through. The person stood up from the smoke as it faded away, revealing to be unharmed, but Rabier wasn't expecting this turn of events.

"_Hmm. I supposed I've caught Sir Zellus' habits of showing up at the last second. I should probably work on erasing that out._"

Itsuki and Welst gasped.

"Kojeel, you're here!?"

"But her equipment…?"

No longer did Kojeel have her leather armour that the group was used to seeing. Instead, she had metal plating armour that looked strong, and yet they were thin enough for her to move freely. Her arms weren't exposed anymore, being covered with a black sleeve underneath arm protection and gauntlets on the end. Her red bandana was still being held on her forehead as her bangs swayed with her movements.

However, what was rather different had been the purple cloth that wrapped over her right thigh. On it, there was an emblem similarly drawn on Melromarc's flag.

"Ah, so the Bow Demon even brainwashed a knight of Melromarc?" Rabier scowled. "No matter! I'll still have you killed alongside him! No mercy for those who align with the Shield Demon!"

"W-What?" Itsuki flinched at the revelation, one which Rabier apparently knew already. "A knight of Melromarc?"

Kojeel sighed and despite the numbers disadvantage, she spoke calmly. "I figured it might end up like this when I found out you were investigating the slaves, Sir Itsuki."

"How did you—!?"

"Let's not worry about that for now. I'll explain later, but since it's unavoidable, allow me to re-introduce myself."

She spun her spear in her hand and brought it behind her with her gaze locked on Rabier and the Holy knights. Rabier had shied away for a brief moment before his bravado returned.

"My name is Kojeel, a high knight of the Melromarcian Army, assigned with the protection of the Legendary Bow Hero by the king." Her composed voice only made the words more daunting. "It's a pleasure to serve under you, Sir Itsuki. Shall I make an escape route for you?"

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|—(  
SKIT 036 : Kojeel's Hobby**

[Welst] : "You know, Kojeel always keeps going on her walks around the town whenever she gets the chance. Now that it sank in, it's… oddly out-of-character from what we know from her. She's always so serious and mature that I would have thought that during her spare time, she's training or something along those lines."

[Itsuki] : "So having a quiet and harmless hobby suddenly makes Kojeel odd?"

[Welst] : "N-No, that's not what I was trying to imply here. Just based on what I know of her from the time I've been with everyone, it just feels weird to think that Kojeel's preferred hobby, with that personality of hers, could technically be moonlit romantic walks by the beach."

[Itsuki] : "..."

[Itsuki] : "Good job, Welst. Now I can't get that out of my head."

[Welst] : "See!? It's weird!"

[Itsuki] : "Only if you define it like that!"

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(  
SKIT 037 : Endless Rivalry**

[Itsuki] : "What's your opinion on it, Kojeel?"

[Kojeel] : "Please excuse me, but what might you be referring to?"

[Itsuki] : "Welst's and Mald's endless bickering with one another. I know they're both strong, but they could at least learn to get along with each other. We'll be fighting waves eventually and I don't want to be bringing them into an important fight where they're going to butt heads with one another constantly."

[Kojeel] : "I would say that their competitive spirit against each other keeps them in the fight. One doesn't want to be outdone by the other and be given the liability card, correct? It ends up as an endless rivalry of who would trump who and sometimes, that causes some odd coordination methods to exist."

[Itsuki] : "Does such a thing really exist?"

[Kojeel] : "You already saw it in action with our fight with the bandits. Welst would keep the incoming bandits at bay to protect Mald, but Mald would always give the bandits a reason for them to come attack him instead of Welst. They end up scratching each other's backs, even for the reason to see who can outscratch who."

[Itsuki] : "And you think that's okay?"

[Kojeel] : "As long as the job is completed, I have no arguments."

[Kojeel] : "... Though, I would highly advise them to not come close to setting an entire forest on fire again. Or breaking territory-owned structures. Or scaring civilians. Also, I vaguely remember them almost killing each other too after a botched fight against a monster."

[Kojeel] : "Hmm. Perhaps the negatives could outweigh the positives…"

[Itsuki] : "I-I guess that was a good input. T-Thanks, Kojeel…"

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**


	22. Chapter 1-21 : Recourse

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

"What are you waiting for!?" Rabier howled as he pointed at Kojeel and the others. "Kill her and murder that miserable Bow Demon!"

Two holy knights drew their sword and ran forwards, slashing down on their target. However, she took a step back to reposition her spear and spun around, flaying her weapon like a sweeping stick at the knights' legs. The action caused the both of them to trip over. Before one could hit the ground, she kicked that knight into some of the chanting mages, interrupting their spells.

She took the knight's position and stabbed her spear on the other fallen knight's shoulder while stepping on their wrist. She didn't anticipate the knight to power through the wound and moved the arm out of the way, grabbing her foot as it stomped down. She managed to flick the grip off by jumping back as the knight slowly got back on their feet, using the cover of the flying magic spells she couldn't interrupt.

She grunted, bringing her spear back inwards to defend against the projectiles. She staggered backwards from the impact, but there hadn't been any immediate damage inflicted on her aside from the subtle cough stemming from the aftereffects. Even with her spearwork and better combat prowess compared to Itsuki and Welst, it was ending up as a stalemate at best.

"Don't bother to resist," Rabier scoffed at them. "The moment that you stepped into my manor, your fates were already sealed. I suppose I should thank Aldrecht for giving me this opportunity. Such a good and reliable friend, handing me this trap on a silver platter."

'_Aldrecht? Him!?_'

Itsuki was taken back by the retainer's name. He didn't expect him to have correlations with the situation at hand, but he didn't know if he should have been surprised by that. If anything, it confirmed some of Ren's theories of who they're trying to deal with as their true enemy.

"Step down and surrender already," Rabier chuckled highly. "Just make this easier for everyone. I'll make sure to make your deaths quick and painless. Though, I can't promise the same to the Bow Demon."

"I'm still under strict orders by the king to protect the Bow Hero and last time I checked, you are not the king. As a governor, your words cannot trump His Majesty's."

"I'm doing everyone a favour before the Shield Demon and his false hero lackeys are able to destroy Melromarc from the inside out! I'll be revered as a hero if this task will be dealt with here and now!"

Kojeel hung back a bit with an unreadable expression. Itsuki didn't know what Kojeel was going to attempt, but he was surprised when she spun her spear to point downwards, stabbing the tip into the ground. She formed a relaxed posture with untensed shoulders, even with the holy knights pointing their weapons at her, and took out a cigar.

"Huh? Have you already accepted your fate, foolish knight?"

"Perhaps I have," she said, causing Itsuki to frown and Welst to be startled. She lit up her smoke and inhaled. "However, I want to acknowledge something before you make further attempts for our lives. I can't overlook the fact that you betrayed the original plan assigned to you by the king's shadows. I'll ask you to stand down before there are further repercussions."

"Ha!" Rabier laughed. "You!? Asking _me_ to stand down while you _three _are the ones who are about to die!? I must say, you sure know how to make me even more amused over the death of the Bow Demon! Have you forgotten that I am _Idol Rabier_, the man who has fought along the likes of Aldrecht and the king during the Silvelt War!? I have many more connections than a mere high knight, so your apparent 'repercussions' are mere balloons to my strength!"

Kojeel closed her eyes and puffed out smoke, moving her cigar in a dangling state.

"Very well, Lord Rabier. Then I suppose I have no other choice."

A soft rumbling hum emerged from her throat as her fingers repositioned the way she held the cigar. Welst saw the movement and when he realized what Kojeel was doing, he gasped. He immediately shouted to Itsuki, not trying to let that incident happen to him again.

"Sir Itsuki! Look away!"

Itsuki flinched, but as Kojeel's grip on her cigar loosened, he heeded the warning as he looked over to the night skies. In the meanwhile, Kojeel made a subtle chuckle, not letting it show on her face.

She tossed the cigar into the middle of the room as it started to ignite into a bright light.

"[Flash Bang]."

The room erupted into a blinding state as the holy knights stammered in a dazed panic. Some of the mages tried to blindly start up their spells as Rabier was shrieking in the back, complaining wildly about the 'cowardly' skill. Even if the mages weren't already doing it, Rabier shouted for them to fire their spells quickly.

Itsuki could see the effect emerge from their peripherals and they prepared themselves to be ready for a fight. However, he both felt Kojeel run to him and pick him up under an arm. She ran closer to the shattered windows, noting the slightly injured Welst was under the other. It felt like he was getting pushed off with a weird harness, but the distance to the ground made him hold his breath without another thought in occupance.

"Sir Itsuki! Welst!" she shouted. "Hold on tightly!"

"Hold on to _what_!?"

Without another response to Welst's words, Kojeel leapt from the window as the spells were being completed. She narrowly dodged the spells with her descend, blasting a mixture of magic into the air above them. It definitely would have made a scene within the town, resulting in a loud explosion popping through the air.

Welst screamed during their fall and Itsuki's body tensed up as their faces dropped closer and closer to the ground, but they stopped just before the surface. Kojeel stood back up and released the pair onto the ground gently. She turned around to look up, seeing that Rabier had ran up to look to see where they were going.

"Those brats!" Rabier pointed at them for his command. "Follow them and bring me their heads!"

* * *

**)**—**(\**IV**| Chapter 1-21 |**IV**/)|**—**(  
)\\( Recourse )/(**

* * *

Both fallen members groaned as they stood up slowly. Welst dusted off his injury, feeling the adrenaline pumping through his veins as he looked over to the undercover knight alongside Itsuki. The entire thing was starting to feel unreal to him, never having been in such a dilemma before in his years of being an adventurer.

He could only imagine the exasperated expression on his face paired with the shaking of his hands.

"I have _several_ questions, Kojeel!"

"Those can wait." She passed them with a brief dash, moving away from the building. "We need to escape. It's no longer safe here for you, Sir Itsuki. Follow me and keep them at bay while we move to the stables. We'll retrieve our carriage and horses to depart immediately."

Itsuki gritted his teeth. "But Rabier—!"

"Lord Rabier can be dealt with at a later point," she sternly explained as she paused momentarily. "Right _now_, I need to ensure your safety. That's my highest priority instructions right now."

"But the slaves!"

"Sir Itsuki," Welst said, "I have _no _idea what's going on, but all I know is that we have to get out of here! Lord Rabier has a good amount of holy knights by his side and we can't loiter around here unless we're trying to die, given we don't have the strength or manpower for a head-on fight!"

Itsuki clicked his tongue, having the image of the deceased demi-human in his mind. If he didn't do anything to send a message, there could have been more children, not to mention the rest of the slave demographic, suffering from the terrible system. He really wanted to run back into the manor, but all of the conditions were forcing him away.

His chest tightened and his throat became dry.

"Sir Itsuki!"

Rojeel's calls pushed him over to that painful, yet obvious choice. The holy knights had already been coming down the stairs. The doors were still opened for them to see. They were rushing onwards, thirsty to poke their weapons and spells through him, causing him to instinctively back up from the sight.

"D-Damn it…" Itsuki bit down on his teeth. "Fine. We're going!"

"You two get the carriage!" Welst shouted. "I'll keep them busy!"

"Y-You sure about this?"

"Unfortunately, _someone _has to do the job! As long as you swing by to pick me up though, it'll be fine! _I hope_."

Welst poked his staff towards the doors and started chanting as the other two nodded as they ran down the roundabout's pathway and along the direction to the stables.

"[Zweite Flame Blast]!"

His spherical condensed flames shot outwards towards the opening, but it hadn't been aimed at the knights. The flames landed on the doors themselves, exploding in a fiery burst and more importantly, it obstructed the knights from getting past. He leered over his shoulder to make sure that Itsuki and Kojeel were moving, before getting some distance away for himself just in case the knights do something unordinary.

He could see some of their mages preparing to cast anti-fire spells, but he was already getting ready to replace the flames with another one of his own. He started to wonder how quickly they'll be able to realize that his flames aren't as strong as their armour, praying that the bluff would work for long enough.

Itsuki and Kojeel rounded the side of the building and noticed the sound of horses neighing wildly. As they got closer to stable, beautifully decorated and well-built, they could see a few of the guards trying to control their horses. Their carriage was right behind them too.

They were trying to prevent them from escaping, but one of the guards noticed their arrivals.

"They're here!" The group of five guards glanced over. The shouting man pointed to another two. "You and you, move those horses out! We'll take care of them!"

The three remaining guards pulled out their blades and charged. Itsuki made a hard stop on his right foot and aimed his arrow through a bow transformation. It formed a metallic curvature, crafted with strong ores, that he'd copied a while back. He already unlocked the skill on it for free use, but it was still his strongest bow in his arsenal.

**[Magic Steel Bow] 12/25 R  
(Equip Bonus) : Attack 2, Magic 2, Magic Defense 1  
(Equip Bonus Skill) : Arrow Rain  
(Mastery Level) : 67  
(Item Enhancement) : LV4, Magic Defense Piercing (medium), SP Increase (low)**

With it aimed at an upper arc, which was a requirement to activate the skill, he fired a shining arrow into the skies. As it swayed downwards at the guards, he snapped his fingers to trigger the skill. He didn't need to, but it felt right.

"[Arrow Rain]!"

The bright arrow exploded in mid air to release a storm of similarly lit arrows, as if an airstrike had been dropped by a flying plane. The guards hesitated and stopped to defend themselves, blocking some of the aerial projectiles from dealing critical collective damage. There was only one wave that flew downwards and Kojeel followed up once the coast was cleared.

She picked up her speed and rushed forwards, brandishing her spear to take down two of the three guards. The third one managed to recover before Kojeel could deal a painful blow and blocked her thrust. She inexpressibly backed up as the guard swung his sword.

Kojeel expertly kept the distance to dodge the attack and used her spear to poke the guard, abusing her superior range. He kept avoiding the thrusts and pushing the tip to the side with his weapon, but her quick attacks and footwork made it very difficult to advance.

An arrow suddenly struck him from the side, followed by another one to stagger him. The focus on defense made him forget entirely about the Bow Hero and before he could cry out, Kojeel struck a powerful jab with her spear. It crushed through the armour and blood spurted out from the guard's mouth as the spear's tip was consumed.

She pulled it out without hesitation with her spear being covered in the collapsing man's blood.

"We're advancing," Kojeel stated.

As Itsuki ran over the guard who had been groaning in pain in his unconscious state, Itsuki could only snark at him with silent pleas. Coincidentally, he was the same guard who spoke with Beloukas as that stout man left and Itsuki couldn't help to mutter under his breath.

"_Serves you right for just watching_."

He picked up his pace to follow Kojeel into the stables which had been apparently connected to the main building. His worried that the holy knights might use this as an alternative route, but Kojeel had been confidently running forwards, catching up with the guards trying to take around the horses.

"What!? That was quick!"

"Looks like we got no other choice!"

The two guards released the reins of the shaking horses and attempted to prepare the weapons, but instead of coming closer, Kojeel stopped and raised her left hand to stop Itsuki as well. With that same hand, she moved it to her mouth and made a whistle, making a beckoning gesture to follow.

The horses immediately slammed their hooves onto the guards' backs and crushed them underneath their weight, running over to Kojeel. Itsuki gasped at the sudden trick and obedience, especially given the fact that the thankful village provided them with horses found at the bandit's hideout. They were rather trained for random horses.

She made some more hand gestures to the horses, to which they seemingly understood and started following her. Rojeel checked up on their provided carriage to find that the wheels have been broken off and severely damaged. It seemed like they were already predicting all of this to unfold.

"Sir Itsuki, watch the side entrance of the stables for any holy knights and guards. I'll hook up horses to another carriage laying about."

He noticed the pathway that the stables had that led to the main manor. It was a fairly large area and considering how there weren't any carriages on this side of the stables, she'll have to sweep the place. There were only animals and monsters, all looking to be fit to pull carriages, but he noted how these monsters were being cared more in better condition than the slaves.

He readied his bow once he walked to that position, having a clear shot on whoever comes through.

Kojeel took that as a silent affirmative, whistling to the horses again and left that section of the stables.

Now that he was alone, he could feel his heart pounding through his eardrums. His breathing was heavy and the weight of this world started to hold his shoulders down. He didn't know if he was angry or tired that all of this was happening.

This entire situation was insane, but he couldn't shake off what Rabier said back there.

'_How did he even know about my relationship with Naofumi? Was it just enough that I tried to stand up for him in that single instance? But that wouldn't make sense; anyone in my position would have been taking second guesses at a hero being arrested on the second day… right?_'

Though, there was also the fact that Ren had been captured and was planning to be executed.

None of it made sense.

Were they not supposed to be the Cardinal Heroes that needed to save their world?

"It's the Bow Demon!"

Itsuki snapped out of his thinking trance and saw an armour holy knight running out from the manor's exit. He released his hold on the string, letting the arrow soar into the knight. It would have landed right on the chest, but the knight had blocked it with his sword.

"Death to the Bow Demon!"

He ran to close the gap, causing Itsuki to back up, charging another skill.

"[Wind Arrow]!"

The projectile transformed into a verdant light as it shot across the stables and collided with the man. However, it merely pushed him back a few meters, and he was already back on his rampage. He approached faster than Itsuki would have thought with a wild swing that aimed for his neck.

He had to duck, having the tips of his hair be sliced off. He was incredibly nervous, just seeing the hair fall in front of his eyes, and kicked off from his position to dodge the underarm slash that followed up. He got back on his feet and glared at the knight.

The distance he bought was taken back for its refund; the knight leapt forwards with a downwards attack as he tried to get another [Wind Arrow] off. He had to abandon the skill since it took too long to activate, not to mention the time it took to pull back his regular arrows.

However, as he stepped to the side to evade it, he tried to get a point-blank arrow shot regardless of its preparation speed. The knight then turned his blade to swing back upwards before it could hit the ground. Itsuki didn't think a normal knight like this was this good at combat, but his only exposure was through the rookie knight that Ren fought.

His presumptions were catching up to him, not being able to dodge cleanly out of the path.

Itsuki bit down his teeth and swerved his shoulders to block the attack with the frame of his bow.

The sword rebounded as the knight twirled around to reach Itsuki from his other side. He threw his body into that direction, barely managing to block the attack again, but there was more power in that attack. His bow was pushed into his body, thinking he heard a cracking bone. He couldn't hold onto his footing from that collision, causing him to fly backwards towards the exit of the stables.

"C-Crap!"

His back slid across the ground, feeling an ache emerge. His health bar was fine, trying to shake off his daze, but he couldn't recover quick enough before the knight stepped on his chest.

"Thanks to Lord Rabier's trap with Lord Aldrecht's help, we can present the true Gods with the head of the Bow Demon. You think you can replicate our God and take advantage of us!? You wish! Our Pope knew the entire time that you were mere posers, trying to consume our world in chaos alongside the Bow Demon!"

Itsuki tried to push the foot off his chest, but the man was simply too heavy. He could feel his ribs being crushed into his organs as the sword's tip was pointed at his head. No longer did it matter if he had a hard time breathing if his skull was about to get kebab'ed.

"Death! Death to the Bow Demon!"

Upon his shouts, a sword emerged from behind him and slammed onto the side of his armour, pushing him off from Itsuki and into one of the closed stables. Itsuki' eyes instinctively followed the knight's body, but when he looked back to who did it, he felt an injection of relief running through his stream. His gruff voice emerged with his sword being retightened.

"What a situation you landed yourself into, Sir Itsuki."

"Mald! You're safe!"

"By the way, archers aren't supposed to be on the frontlines." Mald extended his hand for Itsuki to grab onto, pulling the Bow Hero back on his feet. "I hope you know that."

The knight groaned as his helmeted head banged against the iron bars of the stable, trying to stand up from the rear ambush. Mald grabbed the knight by the head, almost wrapping his large hand around the backside, and threw him back into the iron bars to try and knock him out.

"Y-You… You bastard…!" the knight groaned through his dazed state. "I-I thought you were…!"

Mald kicked him before he uttered another word, most likely knocking him unconscious. The knight's body went limp against the bars, falling over onto the ground with a plop. The armoured ally glanced back at Itsuki with no types of remorse on his face; they must have tried to do something with him before he managed to escape.

"Where is Kojeel?"

"Over here."

Kojeel strode along with a new carriage being pulled by the horses. The carriage itself was much more elegant than what they were originally given, probably stemming from Kojeel hijacking one of Rabier's own carriages. Compared to the carriage they had, akin to a merchant's ride, this one had been looking like it was ripped out of a fairy tale's story. The sashes were tightly secured around the two horses as Mald and Itsuki ran up to meet up with her.

"So I have several questions, Kojeel. You seem to be the one that knows what's going on."

"I can answer them later, Mald. For now, we have to get Sir Itsuki to safety."

He scoffed. "Of course. As long as I get my answers."

He ran up to the carriage and opened the side doors for Itsuki to enter, ducking his posture as he sat down on the soft seats. That were sewn together with intricate patterns, making it seem like they weren't trying to escape their deaths at the moment. Mald followed him into the carriage, taking the seat across from him and opened up the little window made for communication between the travellers and monster handler.

"We're on. Let's escape."

"We need to pick up Welst first."

"What a shame. Thought he died already."

"Mald, don't say that," Itsuki growled. "He's holding off the front doors of the manor for us. We have to grab him and then we can leave."

"If you say so, Sir Itsuki."

Kojeel flicked the harnesses softly, causing the horses to trot along the path. The speed was kept to ensure they could stop quickly and precisely for Welst to get on, but as they rounded the same corner of the building, Itsuki could hear Welst's scream.

"Damn it, get away!"

Welst had been trying to fend off a collection of holy knights by himself at the front. Their forces looked to be much smaller than what it was originally, probably splitting up half of them to leave to the side entrance of the stables. In that case, it was most likely that they just missed that portion.

He, despite being a mage, was trying to defend himself in close combat. There was no method he could use to get magic out quickly, so that's what he had to resort to. Three knights surrounded him as he held his mage's staff with a strong grip, leering at all of them to ensure the distance kept and the possibility of sudden movements. Like he thought, they figured out the bluff and rushed through the flames and ran at him with swords.

"Surrender yourself! We may be able to save you from your brainwashed state!"

"Screw off! I'm a proud adventurer of the guild, picked to fight alongside the Bow Hero. I'm not losing this chance to make a name for myself!"

"If it's fame you want, what more is there than to take down the Bow Demon!?"

"Sir Itsuki's no demon. If I wanted fame by itself, I would have done something a long time ago. Sir Itsuki is a good person at heart and isn't worth going through your trouble for him."

"Then die!"

One of the knights lunged forwards and slammed his sword on Welst's defending staff. Noticing that the other two had been approached, he pushed the first knight away and spun to smack the staff's ends to meet slashes. They took turns in their attacks, so it was slightly easier for him to defend, but it was also easier on paper.

He ducked underneath one of the knight's slash and moved under his arm, escaping from the surrounding formation. They followed him and struck against his staff a few times until a heavy attack landed and snapped his staff into two halves, staggering him backwards. The sword managed to slice a bit of his robe off.

"Oi, that was expensive!"

"Less expensive than the damage the Bow Demon will cause if left alive!"

Suddenly, he heard horses galloping behind him, coming from where Itsuki and Kojeel were headed. From the corner, those horses became visible as well as a fancy carriage that stopped behind him some distance away. He exhaled in relief before he started running towards the escape transportation, but the knights weren't going to let him leave easily.

Two of them started casting magic as the other chased him down.

However, the door of the carriage opened wide and his armoured ally came rushing out to his surprise.

"M-Mald!? We weren't leaving you for dead!?"

"Shut up, you stupid mage! I'll show you that I'm more needed than you!"

He leapt out from the door with Itsuki holding his position, aiming his arrow outwards from the wide opening. He felt like this was right out of a movie where a black van would open up its back side to reveal a heavy-duty gatling gun. As such, he positioned his shot at an arc and fired at the same time the spells were wrapped up.

"[Faust Aqua Shot!]" "[Faust Holy]!"

"[Arrow Rain]!"

Welst glanced over his shoulder to see that the spell were approaching him fast, but Mald moved into the path and tanked the attack, mitigating the damage through his sword and armour. The chasing knight had to go through Mald, bringing together their clashing blades, ringing in its metallic sound.

The casting knights were distracted by the raining arrows from Itsuki's skill and backed off to escape the range, but they were still trying to fire their spells. Mald kept throwing out his attacks as did the matching knight, being both equal in ability of offense and defense. They were reaching a stalemate before the knight spun around one of Mald's attacks and pushed the large adventurer into the second barrage of spells.

Welst held his arms out and started chanting quickly.

"[Zweite Fire Barrier]!"

He covered for Mald's forced position, easing the spell's effects by a good enough margin despite the loss of his weapon, allowing Mald to take the attacks without problems.

"Just die already, demons!"

The knight tried to approach Mald, bringing his swing over his shoulder, but Welst ran forwards to kick him in the back. He staggered forwards from the surprise flank and was further pushed into Mald's range. His sword prepared itself.

"Hey, asshole! Do something about him!"

"You didn't need to tell me!"

Mald stepped forwards and slashed a fatal strike across the man who dropped down onto the ground. He wasn't moving, but his allies out there were persistent in their magic. He looked back, knowing that they would still be sending magic their way as they escaped, but Welst threw him one of the halves of his broken staff.

"Use it. It's garbage anyways now."

"It was always garbage in your hands."

"Did you really have to say that?"

With the little remark, Mald put his energy into his shoulder and threw the staff piece into one of the knight's faces, knocking him onto the ground. Welst passed him the second piece quickly and Mald threw it just as quick, colliding with the second knight before he had the chance to react.

"All finished!" Welst started to make his way to the carriage, as Itsuki moved out of the way for their entry. "Now leave with us or we'll go without you!"

"That should be my line!"

Mald ran behind Welst as they both dove inside, each taking a seat across from the other, as Mald closed the carriage doors behind him, noting how some of the holy knights were approaching from where they came from alongside more guards from the front doors.

"Kojeel, we have the dumb mage! We need to leave now!"

"Already on it! Hiyah!"

She whipped the harnesses this time, causing the horses to pick up their speed quickly, rushing down the pathway towards the gate. There were guards who were dozing off nearby, but once they heard the galloping, they became alerted. Though, there wasn't much they could do against two horses.

That hadn't been the main concern.

"K-Kojeel!" Itsuki shouted. "The gates are still locked!"

The acceleration merely increased with the rumbling wheels.

"That's fine, Sir Itsuki. They're more than capable of taking down such a barrier."

"Something tells me we have to hold on," Mald said.

Welst glared at the armoured member after scanning the empty carriage.

A panicked expression soon followed.

"Hold on to _what_!?"

"Hiyah!"

Kojeel whipped the horse's once more to give themselves a burst of speed and they aimed their heads forwards, neighing loudly as it was accepting the challenge. The guards found their grip and blocked the gate with their bodies, pointing their weapons forwards.

"Stop!" they shouted.

The horses didn't heed them and sped up, causing them to falter.

At the last second, they both jumped out of the way for the horses as the horses crashed through the gates, slamming it wide open and escaping into the town. Itsuki could feel the force from inside the carriage, shaking about violently for the instantaneous moment. Mald managed to hold himself still, but Welst was flung into Itsuki's lap.

"... S-Sorry, Sir Itsuki. I-I was… making sure you don't fly anywhere?"

Mald groaned. "We should have been leaving _you_ behind."

"Screw you too, Mald!"

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

"Are we good?"

"I believe so."

Since it was during the night, there hadn't been many people lingering on the streets, allowing their escape to be casualty-free from civilians. There were a few people who were awoken by the explosion from the third floor, but none of them really stood in the way. They merely popped their heads out the windows or stood in front of their doors to see if they could see what was happening.

Not before long, Itsuki and the others were able to escape the city, but Kojeel was still planning on taking them further out just in case. They were already transitioning from the plains to a forest with a beaten pathway down the middle. The horses were slowing down from before, but their maintained speed was nothing to complain about.

With the little window opened, Itsuki thought this would be the best time for answers.

"What's going on, Kojeel? I know that the situation was partly due to my fault, but it was like Rabier was already expecting to capture me. He already had the holy knights present there and all!"

"You would be right, Sir Itsuki," she responded, focusing on controlling the horses and her explanation at the same time. "Though, the entire slave issue was what helped tipped me off. I was told you were asking around in town for things Lord Rabier before you noticed a slave trader at the entrance. I decided to look into the issue myself to discover that Lord Rabier was already planning to act against you, much to the original plan."

Itsuki silently glared at Welst, but he retracted his body away.

"D-Don't look at me! I didn't tell her anything!"

"Welst is correct. I had another source mention that to me. Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to disclose whom."

"So you really are a knight of Melromarc," Mald mulled. The basic premise of Kojeel's identity had already been informed by Itsuki and Welst. "You said you were sent to watch our Sir Itsuki by the king?"

"That's correct. I, alongside a few other high knights, were selected to act as protective services to the Cardinal Heroes and we were to report your actions to the king over a periodic timeframe."

"To the Cardinal Heroes?" Itsuki frowned as he remembered how the party members were distributed. "If that's the case, why didn't the Shield Hero get any of those knights? And to think that he was taken in for a trial the next day?"

"I'm sorry, Sir Itsuki. I don't know the response to that. I was merely given my job description from the king himself and I accepted those terms, preparing myself to join up with you."

"Wait, I never really got a chance to ask this, but it would have been so much clearer before." He turned to Welst and Mald. "Since I know how Kojeel got roped into this, the question drops to the both of you. Was there a reason you selected me to begin with?"

"Huh? Oh, are you going on about that first day and how Lord Aldrecht straight-up lied about the method?"

Itsuki narrowed his eyes.

"Well, I mean…" Welst hummed a bit before continuing with a bit of memory jogging. "I don't think it was a _straight-up _lie since I figured that people used the comments section to inform the king of which hero they wanted to be paired with, but I didn't actually use that. I just completed the application without any variables being narrowed down and I was told by the guild master that I would be heading with the Bow Hero."

"I actually said specifically that I didn't want to be with the Shield Hero," Mald answered, "and what an excellent choice to make. Though, that still meant that I had a one in three chance to end up in your party, Sir Itsuki."

"Why didn't you say anything about it!?" Itsuki exclaimed.

"W-What!? I didn't think it was anything important! I only thought Lord Aldrecht was trying to cheer up the Shield Hero or some other plan—I don't know! The king was a powerful tactician and Lord Aldrecht always works within his plans! They probably had something in the works for him!"

"Something… in the works, huh?"

Itsuki thought back to Ren's theories once again.

Was the king and his retainer truly the enemies that were causing all of this?

However, Kojeel's position defied that. She claimed that she was under direct orders from the king and she even fought through the holy knights to keep him safe. It didn't make sense to try and kick him down if he provided strong knights like Kojeel to his side, but he noticed that there was a lack of mention for Aldrecht.

He was the one to argue for Naofumi back at the trial, but perhaps that was a ruse to make them think that he was on their side. Was it possible that Aldrecht was manipulating the king somehow?

All of these were too many jumping conclusions, but all signs looked to be pointing to that old mage.

The theory matched up with what Rabier mentioned, cockily saying that this was Aldrecht's trap for him, but in that case, there were a few more things that he needed to confirm. There might have been no sense in asking Kojeel about it, considering she had been exclusively talking on the king's behalf, but regardless, he needed to hear more.

"So you being a high knight aside," Itsuki said, "Rabier said some things that caught my attention, probably because he thought I was going to die then and there. From what it sounded like, this was a trap, waiting to be sprung on me."

"I cannot speak on the behalf of Lord Rabier," she answered, "but I can say for certain that Lord Rabier has gone against the wishes of the king. Other details must be kept as a secret, for your safety and uninfluenced decisions, but what I may tell you is that everything that occurred within Lord Rabier's territory excluding his own actions was planned. You were meant to stay at the manor and wait for the wave monsters to come attack the citizens which were to be arriving in about five days."

"Such a precise time frame," Welst muttered.

"Of course. Those monsters were captured ones from the first wave and were to be released nearby the city. Though, I have no idea where the king managed to find captured wave monsters to begin with. We have none on the castle grounds."

"You were going to intentionally let the monsters hurt the citizens!?" Itsuki exclaimed. "Why!?"

"I don't have reasoning. As a knight, I merely follow orders."

"Are knights always supposed to be blind to the obvious problem here!?"

"You call it blind. We knights call it _trust _in our wise king." Kojeel leered over her shoulder, almost intimidating Itsuki back into his seat. "We follow every one of his orders because we believe that it is what will benefit the majority, if the king said so. The same goes for the queen."

"Then how the hell do you explain the execution of Ren, the Sword Hero!?"

Kojeel scrunched her eyebrows with the following silence to ensure that she heard correctly.

"... The _what_?"

"Rabier said that he'd be applauding for when the _eventual_ execution of the Sword Hero occurs!"

"Sir Itsuki, I have _no _idea what you're talking about."

"Rabier said that he was captured within the capital for destroying a library that belonged to the Church of Three Heroes! Through his arrogance, he blabbered that and I need to know, Kojeel!" Itsuki stood back up inside and leapt over to the open window. "Don't hide this from me! Please!"

"You don't have evidence that Lord Rabier was telling the truth." She turned her head back to focus on the main road. "The world is filled with information, both truths and lies."

"I know this is one of those truths. I…"

Itsuki didn't know how to explain the fact that he saw a vision of Ren fighting inside the library on a crystal ball that a mysterious white-haired girl gave to him. They might think he was dreaming up the scenario, so he had no choice except to be vague about it.

"I was informed by an outside source. Someone appeared and told me, giving me undeniable evidence in the process to believe such a thing. I thought it was a weird thing to encounter all of a sudden, but Rabier's words stuck to me. And now, it's all clicking."

"Y-You…. encountered a shadow?"

"... Y-Yeah."

'_Let's go with that._'

Itsuki had no idea what she was talking about, but he decided to take her assumption and use it for himself.

"From who?"

Itsuki stammered to come up with a name. If he had said the Church of Three Heroes, it would have been another reason to not believe that hypothetical source. If he had said the king, Kojeel would likely not believe him. That really left him with one name to use.

"The information was sent by Aldrecht."

"I wasn't informed of his execution from the king. I thought he was attempting to keep the Sword Hero safe, but if Lord Aldrecht was the one to provide the shadow…" She started to mull to herself. "What exactly is going on here?"

"So you know nothing about the execution?"

"Nothing. I wish I could tell you more, Sir Itsuki. That does sound rather serious and something that the assigned knights should have known about. I wonder how the Sword Hero's assigned knight is dealing with this. There's no way that he would allow for such a thing to occur so easily."

"That's alright. Thanks for your honesty, but if that's really the case, I want to go see him."

"I apologize, Sir Itsuki. I have orders to prevent you from returning to the capital."

Mald raised his eyebrows. "That's a rather odd order to have. Does this have to do something with that blind trust of yours?"

"Keeping a Cardinal Hero away from something like this? You would think the inverse here." Welst scratched his head. "What the hell is the king thinking?"

"Again, I don't have explanations. However, what I do know is that—"

Suddenly, the end of the carriage was attacked, flinging everyone inside forwards to the front and interrupting Kojeel's words. Out of instinct, Itsuki hung onto the window whereas Welst flew from the backseat, slamming his head into Mald's armour. He made a grunting scream, but no one had been making comments. Kojeel pulled her head to the side to see what was going on, but she already had a good idea what it was.

What she saw merely confirmed it.

"K-Kojeel, what's going on!?"

"The holy knights have caught up! They struck the rear side with a magic spell!"

Behind their carriage, an array of knights on horseback had been trailing behind them. Some of them wielded melee weapons in their hands, keeping a grip on their horse with the other. Others didn't have melee options, needing to use magic and there were others that were paired up with another to have the ability to shoot arrows.

"They came after us!?" Welst raised his head from Mald, rubbing his forehead. "Those persistent bastards of the Church!"

"To think that they would chase us this far," Mald growled.

He pushed Welst off him and onto the carriage's floor, proceeding to open the door to see for himself. He grabbed onto the ceiling and dipped his head out before a magic spell had crashed into the swinging door, damaging it. An arrow quickly followed, striking through the glass and causing Mald to sink back into the carriage, but he saw enough to grasp the situation.

"At least eight horses!"

"Eight!?"

"Kojeel!" Welst cried, picking his head off the ground. "Can't you go any faster!?"

"These horses were not meant for speed in mind! They were bred and raised to have strength and perseverance, ideal for combat, but not focused on chases and escaping like this!"

"W-Wha!? I thought we got the horses randomly from the bandit hideout!"

"These horses were provided by the king, disguised as gifts from the village!"

"This isn't the time to be confused about that! If we can't outrun them, we'll have to shake them off another way!" Mald exclaimed.

"What the hell are you suggesting!?"

"Use your head, you stupid mage!" Mald yelled as he moved back to the flailing door. He drew his sword and slashed at the hinges, breaking it apart and with one more heave, he broke the door right off the carriage, sending it backwards to the horses. He poked his head out to see its trajectory. "We take the fight to them!"

The broken door flung itself into one of the horses, promptly stopping the monster and causing their handler to fly right off into the ground. The others didn't mind the lost member and merely repositioned themselves to avoid suffering the same fate.

"Well, they're not falling for the same trick again."

"They're still catching up!"

"Then start delaying them! You have magic, don't you!?"

"Fine! You don't need to shout into my ears! I'll go deaf because of you!"

Welst dipped his head out the empty side, gripping one hand on the floor and sticking the other out to the closest enemy. His mouth started muttering the incantations.

"[Zweite Fireball]!"

The flames shot out and soared over to the horse, but upon collision, the horse didn't stop. It ran through his spell, trudging through the pain as the knight was left unaffected.

"Good job, you worthless mage! That did nothing!"

"Then I'll have to ramp it up a bit!"

Welst leaned out of the carriage, keeping his legs tucked in, and held both of his hands at his target.

"I am the source of my—_Shit_!"

A spell managed to fly over to the carriage, hitting the back once more and pushing Welst further out. He thought he was about to fall out of their transportation, but a hand grabbed onto his collar and tugged him back in before his face broke against the passing earth.

His back slammed onto the floor, expecting to thank Itsuki for the help.

However, it was Mald who pulled him in.

"Anything you want to say, worthless mage!?"

Welst pouted, averting his gaze. "T-Thanks, I guess…?"

He honestly thought Mald would have left him for dead. Needless to say, it was a sour surprise.

Meanwhile, Itsuki was looking through the opposite and the remaining door, trying to see if he could get any good shots from his angle. Unfortunately, the door opened up towards the knights, effectively blocking his chances. He quickly came over to the other side, moving past Mald and over Welst to try a clearer angle, but any good shots required him to lie down in a similar position as Welst had just did.

Frankly, it was too risky to pop his head out.

He needed a good place to position himself while having an open place to hit the knights and he only had one place in mind. Unfortunately, that needed him to risk himself even further.

"Welst! Provide cover for me on the side!"

Itsuki stood himself right beside the exposed area. His arms started to shake, just thinking about what he needed to do, but if he wasn't going to do it, they were as good as dead. Placing his bow back over him, he took a deep breath and leaned out of the carriage, grabbing onto the top tightly.

"S-Sir Itsuki!?"

"I'm heading to Kojeel! I'll have the overhead space to act properly!"

He could feel the violent speeds flickering his hair wildly about.

"That's insane!"

"Sir Itsuki's right!" Mald shouted. "Letting him move to Kojeel will give him the position he needs to fire his arrows!"

The armoured adventurer ran up to the other side of the carriage and broke off the remaining door. It didn't stop any of the knights, but it allowed Welst to provide cover from both sides now. However, another magic struck the carriage, causing Itsuki's right hand to slip off the top. He barely managed to hang on with his left.

"Make yourself useful for Sir Itsuki for once and stop those spells from reaching him!"

"I know, I know!"

With Mald holding him down, Welst slid his torso back out and readied his hands, watching the many knights bridge the gap closer. Itsuki managed to recover his right hand back onto the top and started to climb up. His upper body strength hadn't been too good, but he managed to have enough to get his elbows on top. He swung one foot up and as the second foot followed, more spells headed his way.

"Open your eyes, you stupid mage!"

"I see them! I am the source of my power! Burn up all that crosses my path! [Zweite Fire Barrier]!"

The magic elements flung themselves through Welst's defensive spell, but it shook the carriage a lot less.

In one burst of power, Itsuki got his entire body up onto the roof. He felt the winds howling even louder by his ears, threatening him that falling into their embrace would be dangerous. The winds started to sound a lot sharper as the seconds rolled by, but the screaming down below soon told him that it wasn't his imagination.

"I can't cast the spell in time!"

"Sir Itsuki! Watch out!"

He looked back instinctively to see that a blade of wind had been flying into the carriage and connected with the carriage, but it didn't stop there. He could hear its mighty strength crush through the material under him like it was paper and continued off into the distance in front of their ride, disappearing into nothing. He thought it was a failed attempt, but he quickly realized that the roof started moving.

The attack managed to slice off the top of the carriage with him on it.

"Shit!"

Itsuki stood up, but he started staggering as the platform tilted off the horizontal plain. He saw the end of the roof land onto the ground below the wheels and its angle was moving down quickly. Gritting his teeth, he pushed his legs out as the roof was left behind them, extending his arms out to catch the carriage, but he wasn't close enough.

His hands missed the edge and met nothing but air.

"Got you!"

"You're not dying today!"

However, Welst and Mald, popping up from the open-aired carriage, managed to grab his wrists to prevent him from becoming horse stampede prey.

"Mald! Welst! Pull him up quickly!"

Without another word from Kojeel, Welst and Mald tugged him in. His heart kept pounding, but they weren't out of the woods yet. Though, seeing the new unwilling design of their carriage, Itsuki exhaled his relief to know that he didn't need to experience such a thing again.

The knights accidentally gave him cover to fire his arrows.

He pulled out his bow as he crouched between the seats and pulled back on the nock, aiming it into the skies directly vertical. His arrow glistened underneath the night brightly as he could hear the shouts of the knights, wanting to put him to death, but he wasn't sure if this was going to be good enough.

"Sir Itsuki, I got an idea. Let's try a combo skill!"

Itsuki held his arrow and looked to Welst. "A combo skill?"

"I was meaning to talk about it when it was convenient, but this is a better time than ever to try!" Welst held out his hand towards Itsuki's charging skill. "[Faust Fire]."

Itsuki's arrow started to ignite itself on Welst's flames as he moved away.

"Mald!" Kojeel called out. "Take the harasses from me! I'll empower Sir Itsuki's skill as well!"

"I understand!"

Mald leapt over the front wall as Kojeel handed him the reins, letting Kojeel take his spot without any loss of speed. She held her hand in the same manner as Welst and casted her own spell.

"[Faust Holy]." She backed off to let Itsuki release the skill. "There. The skill should be ready."

It was being combined with both fire and light.

This was an improved [Arrow Rain] from what it seemed like, mixing it with other elements to give it extra power. In that case, Itsuki knew he had to give it another name. The menus weren't adding anything extra, so he launched the arrow into the starry night and as it reached the climax, he snapped his fingers with the improvised name in his head.

"[Arrow Rain—Shooting Star]!"

The skill exploded above them, but since they were moving, the arrows would fall onto those moving into the area below the shining lights. They started crashing into the knights and their horses, knocking a good amount of them off their mounts. There were even holes that formed where some of the arrows landed, causing those that trailed behind the main group to trip.

The only ones that managed to escape heaven's judgement had been the ones that sped up and got too close for their own liking. There were two knight mounts specifically, one of them having an archer on the back, running side by side to them.

"You'll pay for this, Bow Demon!"

Itsuki and Welst readied for a fight, but their bodies were starting to get tired. They've been using skills and magic a lot during their escape and they were running out of MP; in Itsuki's case, SP as well.

However, Kojeel silently turned to those knights. She slid her hand down her spear and started chanting.

"I am the source of my power. Light, come and slay my enemies before me. [Faust Holy]!"

Kojeel gripped tighter onto her spear and instead of the spell emerging, she stuck out her spear much to the holy knights' surprise. They almost wanted to mock her attempt to reach them with her spear, but it was soon going to be flipped.

"[Cancel, Magic Equip]!"

"W-What…?"

Itsuki widened his eyes to see that Kojeel's weapon had been covered in a white light. She pulled it back as if it was a harpoon and acted as if she was throwing her spear. Her hand still held onto it, but the light that was sticking onto it shot out at the horse's feet, causing it to faceplant and hurled the two knights into the dust.

With one remaining knight left, he tried to close into the carriage's wheel and tried to stab the wheel to break their carriage. However, Kojeel leapt from her position and into the air, striking the knight off their horse before hijacking the mount for herself.

It slowed down a bit from the sudden swap of riders, but she managed to control the horse well enough to keep it in check. It wasn't in the plans to have another horse, but at the moment, she couldn't simply abandon the monster. She quickly caught back up to the group, promptly disengaging the light on her spear.

She glanced over, noticing Itsuki and Welst were looking back to see if there were anymore knights trailing them. A rush of relief entered their lungs to see nothing worth mentioning. They both collapsed; Itsuki laying back comfortably on the seat while Welst's head was the only body part that got that comfort.

"Is it over yet…?" Welst asked, gasping for air. "Man, that was too wild for me. A-Ah, the injuries settling back in again. C-Crap..."

"They really wanted me dead, huh?" Itsuki mulled, pulling back his head to look up into the stars. "They probably want The Shield Hero and the Sword Hero dead too at this point. I still need answers from you, Kojeel."

"We might not be out of danger yet. We'll reorganize at the nearest village and I'll answer any other lingering questions you have there."

"Yeah. Sounds good," Itsuki said, wanting to close his eyes to relax from the tense situation.

"Where's the nearest village then?" Mald asked.

Kojeel thought for a bit before she returned to him with an answer.

"The pathway should be branching out into different roads up ahead. It's not the closest one, but we should take the left road since it's probably the safer option."

"The safer option?" Welst asked. "Why's that?"

"It's a quiet village that is mostly known for its mining excavations and it doesn't have many eyes on it, especially as of late with monsters nesting up within their mineshafts. As an adventurer, you might have heard of it before. It's called—"

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

As the morning sun rose from the horizon, a young man walked out from the village for another day to stay on guard. Most of the time, it was an easy job, even with the added condition of asking for a fee every time someone new had wished to enter the village. They didn't normally have a fee, but their village's economy started to derail once their main source of income had been blocked off by monsters. From the chief's orders, it was one of the ways they could help themselves through this crisis.

Recently though, the entire monster problem was solved. The man was relieved that he didn't need to argue with people about fees too much anymore. Too many adventurers had walked on by, confused or bewildered by the mere cost of 30 copper to enter. Most ended up paying; others just went on their way in anger.

"Finally, some good news ever since the waves of destruction started."

He then heard the sound of trotting horses in the distance. It was probably merchants, hearing about the returning source of income, coming to buy off their collected ores. He stood up straight to make himself look presentable as the horses came closer. Two of them had been pulling a carriage while the other one had been managed by a single person, walking to the carriage's side.

However, he squinted his eyes to take a closer look at the carriage.

It was definitely one belonging to a noble, but it was rather odd.

There was no roof on top of it.

"Did we really have to stop and rest, Kojeel? We could have made it here quicker otherwise!"

"You must have patience, Welst. I was worried about the damage the horses might have taken during the skirmish and I had to tend to their wounds. Horses don't show pain, so unless you know what you're looking for, you won't notice their suffering. These monsters are as important as the knights that ride them, so they must be taken with good care."

"It worked out in the end. They weren't following us anymore and they certainly didn't intrude on our well-earned sleep. I can still feel my neck cracking though."

"It's as Sir Itsuki says, so don't fret about such trivial things that didn't occur, you dumb mage."

"No one asked for your input, Mald."

They were slowly approaching the entrance as the man on duty gestured to them to come to a stop before him. They did so accordingly as the guard walked up to the group. Now that he got a better look at the carriage, he could only wonder as to what the hell happened to it.

The roof was missing. The doors were gone. The rear side had been essentially destroyed and was falling apart. It was as if they were riding the carriage through hell and returned.

"What happened here?"

"Unfortunate case of bandits," Kojeel answered immediately. "We lost our main carriage, but we managed to escape by taking one of their stolen carriages. Though, it didn't come without the cost of that same carriage as well."

"Kinda feel bad about this, but I'll need an entry fee. It's 30 coppers."

"An entrance fee? Seriously?" Welst popped his head out of the carriage, glancing at the guard. "Last time I came here, there wasn't an entrance fee."

"Well, monsters were preoccupying our village's source of income. Without the mineshaft, our economy crashed and we're simply trying to stay afloat here. However, that problem's been recently solved by a young adventurer as of late, so we're trying to transition from the fee back to our original disposition of entry. Regardless, I still have my orders to take in fees for the next week as we ease back to normal."

Itsuki jumped out of the carriage and walked up to the guard.

"30 coppers, right?"

"Yep. Thanks for under—"

Itsuki pulled the 30 coppers out from thin air and handed it to the guard with a straight face.

"Is this enough?"

The guard was simply flabbergasted, but knowing that he still had a job to do, he opened up the convenient pouch and quickly counted the money to be exactly the required amount.

"... _Y-Yeah_. Please be on your way." He brought the coins over to a locked chest to the side as the group started to walk themselves into the village.

The horses trotted down as the morning rose on the villagers. Some of them were already planning to head over to the mineshaft with their tools in hand and proper equipment in stock while the children were still asleep, nowhere to sleep on the day's dawn.

"Since this is a new place I've been to, I'll go check out the weapon's store, if they have one," Itsuki announced. He wanted to see if they had any new bows he could copy. "I'll meet up with everyone back at the inn to settle down the horses and stuff."

"That sounds like a plan, Sir Itsuki," Mald nodded.

"Just make sure you don't accidentally attack another noble while you're alone." Welst scratched his head, letting a yawn out. "I shaved off enough of my years to know that I don't want to go through something like that again."

"Welst, shouldn't you go with Sir Itsuki?" Kojeel asked. "You lost your staff in the process of our escape, correct?"

"I can do that later. My head's still shaking and the only remedy for that is a nice bed."

"Very well. In any case, please be safe, Sir Itsuki."

Itsuki nodded and parted ways from his team.

The village itself, especially compared to the town within Rabier's territory and the capital, had been on the smaller scale of things. It certainly felt like the namesake village that he would see in some medieval settings, right down to the similar buildings that were constructed in a nonlinear manner to one another.

It took a bit of asking about to find the weapon shop, but the people here had been happy to point directions. He could feel like their mood had been lifted up from the ground, smiling about their new and bright future. Whoever this adventurer was, he must have really saved them from a tight situation.

As he walked closer to where this apparent weapon shop was, a round ball suddenly bounced into his path from around the corner. It was made out of the materials that dropped from those balloons monsters he encountered during his first few days of being summoned.

It never registered to him that such objects could be made from materials, but in a world where they probably don't have factories to make plastic, they made do with what they could find. It really made sense now that he thought about it, as the ball rolled over to him. Most likely, they were on an incline to have the ball roll like that, so he picked it up into his hands.

A child must have been chasing after it after it was accidentally launched too far away.

Just as he thought about it, a brown-haired girl ran out from the corner, looking over to Itsuki's direction. She had a rustic-coloured tunic over a brown long-sleeved shirt which would have been good clothing to wear for moving about. In contrast, her hair was beautiful, suggesting that she took good care of it as well.

It was easy to think that she was the ball's owner, but… she felt a bit too old to be playing with a ball like this. She looked about to be Ren's age, after all. Perhaps a bit younger, since she was shorter than him. Though, he supposed that sports may have been a thing here. He should probably retract that statement and apologize to all high-school soccer players while he was at it.

Without the age of media, what other things would teenagers of their age do?

"A-Ah…?"

However, she never asked for her ball back.

She merely stared at him with her red eyes with her mouth hanging open.

That was when Itsuki was a defining feature of the girl. Her ears had been on her head rather than the side, twitching in their round shape. She was a demi-human, just like the people being held inside of Rabier's basement, but considering how she was running about and healthy, he felt a relief to see that this village wasn't corrupted by any evils.

However… she simply kept staring at him.

The whole situation was feeling awkward.

"U-Uhm…" Itsuki held out the ball. "I-Is this yours…?"

"Y-You're…!"

"Raphtalia! Don't go running off like that! Nearby gave me a heart attack when you just disappeared!"

The girl turned around to see her master travel around the corner like she did. He transitioned his light jog to a mere walk, catching up with her. All in the meanwhile, Itsuki widened his eyes, hearing the familiar voice. His heart skipped a beat, trying to figure out if his ears were playing tricks on him.

As he made eye contact with her master, both of them joined in with the villagers in their contented smile.

"N-Naofumi!?"

"I-Itsuki!?"

"You're safe!"

Itsuki wanted to run into Naofumi and give him a hug out of relief, but he knew that wouldn't be proper of him. However, he didn't need to. Naofumi was the one to give him a tight embrace instead. He could feel Naofumi's arms shivering as they wrapped around him. He didn't know what happened that would have warranted this reaction, but instead of talking, he simply accepted the gesture.

"Thanks goodness you're doing well…!"

"You too…"

The girl then smiled over their reunion.

"It _is_ Mister Itsuki! It really is him!"

As Naofumi released his hug, Itsuki quickly moved over to address an issue.

"I want to get this out of the way, Naofumi." Itsuki pointed to the girl. "Who is she? Where's that slave of yours?"

Naofumi was about to answer, but the girl stepped forwards, placing her hand on her chest.

"I _am_ Master Naofumi's slave, the only one."

"Yep, that's Raphtalia. Couldn't even believe it myself."

Itsuki silently stared at her, dragging his eyes to go from her feet to her head and back down. Last time he remembered, Naofumi's slave was simply a child of ten years of age. There's no way that she was already reaching that height. Absolutely no way it could logically be her. She would have been no higher than his chest.

Itsuki silently looked at Naofumi.

Naofumi nodded.

Itsuki silently looked at Raphtalia.

Raphtalia nodded.

In the moment, Itsuki's mind clicked. His jaw dropped.

Riyute Village was interrupted by a distressed scream.

"_WHAAAAAAAAAAT!?_"

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

**Author's Notes :**

Yes. That title was a reference.

No. I'm not going back to that.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|—(  
SKIT 038 : Grand Entrance**

[Itsuki] : "Thanks for saving our asses back there, Kojeel."

[Kojeel] : "It's merely part of my assigned job to protect the Bow Hero. There's no need for gratitude."

[Itsuki] : "My only regret is that we couldn't do anything about the situation there. In fact, I think I made it worse, but I swear that Idol Rabier will pay for what he does onto those demi-humans."

[Kojeel] : "Let's simply worry about our next steps. The Church of Three Heroes have already declared you a demon and we'll need to act properly and accordingly."

[Welst] : "H-Hey, uh… I know this is just a random thought…"

[Itsuki] : "What is it, Welst?"

[Welst] : "K-Kojeel, how did you break through the window? We were on the third floor and it was still pretty high."

[Kojeel] : "I simply jumped."

[Itsuki] : "... What?"

[Kojeel] : "I jumped up and crashed through. I was planning to rush up to the third floor using the stairs, but when I saw that magic up in Lord Rabier's office, I changed my tactic and leapt upwards."

[Welst] : "... Suddenly, I am _very_ thankful that Kojeel is an undercover knight _and _on our side."

[Itsuki] : "No kidding…"

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|—(  
SKIT 039 : Reluctant Assistance**

[Mald] : "This was not how I thought things would turn out with the Church of Three Heroes trying to kill us all. Frankly, I thought you three were much better than to trigger red flags with Lord Rabier, and yet you still did it anyways. You were the one that knew of his prowess in the past too, you dumb mage."

[Welst] : "Oi, I tried stopping Sir Itsuki!"

[Mald] : "_Clearly_, you didn't try hard enough."

[Itsuki] : "There's no use in blaming anyone here except me. I was the one who confronted Rabier about the slaves before I was knowing what I was going to do. I just… couldn't resist the urge of knowing why someone would make others suffer for the hell of it."

[Mald] : "Again with this slave business, Sir Itsuki. I told you before that you involved yourself with such foolishness, I would promptly leave your party, deserting a frontliner position in the team."

[Welst] : "Then leave, you asshole! I didn't want you here anyways!"

[Kojeel] : '_To think that their coordination from our escape played so nicely with one another..._'

[Mald] : "Unfortunately, it's my head that's being hunted as well, since I lent assistance to you during our escape from the manor. I'm not so much of an idiot like the stupid mage to know that leaving in isolation is going to end up in my likely death. Though as reluctant as it may, I'm being forced to fight alongside you due to the circumstances."

[Kojeel] : "Mald's right. We—"

[Welst] : "Shit. I hate it when he's right."

[Kojeel] : "Well, continuing my thought, we have to stick together until I can report back to the king and have him clear everything up as I mentioned. At worst, the situation is still favourable for us. For now, splitting from the group will only result badly. We'll have to try and act cautiously and move around covetly to avoid any collisions with the Church or any other hired mercenaries and adventurers."

[Itsuki] : "Everything's all going to hell, isn't it…?"

[Itsuki] : '_First, Naofumi. Second, apparently Ren… And now me. I hope Motoyasu hasn't gotten himself stuck into a situation like this…_"

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|—(  
SKIT 040 : Money Magic**

[Barkeeper] : "What will it be today? The usual?"

[Guard] : "Y-Yeah…"

[Barkeeper] : "What's wrong? You look a bit distracted. Something on your mind?"

[Guard] : "Has there been a new breakthrough in magic abilities lately?"

[Barkeeper] : "That's an odd question to ask so suddenly. Though, you'll have to be more specific about asking that question."

[Guard] : "Anything about making money appear out of thin air?"

[Barkeeper] : "That's oddly specific, but no. I haven't heard of any type of magic that allows money to appear out of thin air. What's with the curiosity?"

[Guard] : "You see, there was a man a few days ago that was entering Riyute with his demi-human slave. You know, the one that helped the monster problem in the mines. I stopped him for the usual entrance fee and he just took the amount out of thin air like it was normal. I thought it was a trick playing before my eyes until just recently, another young adventurer did the same thing and pulled the entrance fee out of nowhere! I was starting to doubt my sanity there!"

[Barkeeper] : "It certainly is unusual, but it's nothing to lose sleep over. As long as they keep to their own business, they can be flying in the skies for all I care."

[Guard] : "Y-Yeah… Y-You're right…"

[Barkeeper] : "..."

[Barkeeper] : "Do you want something heavier than usual?"

[Guard] : "Please."

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**


	23. Chapter 1-22 : Stray Guidance

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

"Take this! [Burst Lance]!"

From the tip of Motoyasu's spear, he fired off a blinding beam towards the pack of monsters. The impact caused a dusty explosion to distribute around the targets. He staggered slightly, feeling the shockwave off the attack, but he knew he could easily get used to such a thing when he started seeing the experience being gained.

Combo skills were quite a useful ability to know about.

By using Rino's own magic, she could strengthen some of Motoyasu's existing skills by interlaying the spell's formula as he charged up the attack. It was very simple in premise, but it was a bit difficult to nail on the first try. It took a bit of preemptive practice at a non-existent target before they could ship out the technique to this early-morning fight.

Rino was rather glad to see it work out so well, having it be her first time helping with combos skills.

Seeing the monsters lying down limp, Rino couldn't help to exhale a breath of relief.

"Wow, this worked out better than expected," Motoyasu cheered. "[Blast Lance] was a single target attack and with the help of combo magic, it became an area-of-effect. I wonder how many combinations there are."

"No one's ever gone out of their way to write it all down. From what I know about it, the spell itself doesn't matter, just the element class of the inflicted magic. What will matter is the skill it's used on, if I recall correctly..."

Motoyasu started walking up to the monsters and salvage of the physical materials. Even if he didn't have any use for them, they had some decent value if he sold them back to the marketplace. The main objective of the monster hunts would have already been sent into his inventory by the time, being the source of the further strength of his spear's forms.

He had only wished that his friends were able to figure out about the monster soul mechanic. It was a familiar mechanic belonging to [Emerald Online]. He was sure that Ren and Itsuki would eventually figure it out, but he was more afraid for Naofumi who probably could have been wondering what the hell these random stacks were.

There were a ton of regrets lingering around to how he should have said or done; one of them was telling Naofumi more about the main strengthening method that they should have been using, much the ideal way that he should have acted. However, his position was rather difficult between choosing Myne and Naofumi and if he was to replay that event again…

Frankly, he didn't even want to be in such a situation again.

He hated picking sides.

He wanted there to be a mutual agreement and collaboration.

Even now, he couldn't do anything to bridge the bottomless gap, much less what happened more than half a decade ago.

Feeling the painful memories trying to surface to the front, he shook his head, realizing that he had been holding the same piece of fur for the last few seconds without plugging it into his inventory.

There hadn't been much time to loiter around the fields when they still had a job to complete.

Rino and Motoyasu had woken up early for the purposes of testing out combo skills, but they were away from the capital on a guild request. Down to the southwest of the country, there had been a village suffering from a famine and their chief had envoys of food to be delivered from the capital. Unfortunately, the carriage couldn't be sent until there were people to protect it and Motoyasu, upon seeing the request, asked the others if they could take it on.

He had two reasons for doing so.

The first one had been the fact that he truly did want to help these people out. Perhaps he was trying to look away for a distraction from the current situation, but that innate feeling would have still existed regardless of the trial's outcome.

The second was a sense of familiarity. In [Emerald Online], or any MMORPG he would have guessed, these types of escort missions were part of the normalized missions that had to be completed during an early account's days. Although he knew this world hadn't been as simple as he initially thought, the request had stuck out as the conditions were almost exactly like what was offered in [Emerald Online].

The two party members returned back to the campsite where the others had been keeping watch as the carriage got prepared for the final trek of their journey. He saw Lesty speaking with Myne off to the side.

"Oh, we were wondering where you two went," Lesty said, hearing their footsteps approaching.

"We were almost considering coming to find you," Myne added on.

"Sorry about the delay," Motoyasu wryly chuckled. "I didn't expect us to take long, but I hope we didn't throw off the schedule by anything too great."

"Don't worry too much about that! You actually came back right on time! More importantly…"

Lesty glided over to where Rino had been and started to nudge her on the shoulder with a mischievous smile and a quiet voice, enough that Motoyasu couldn't hear.

"_Getting some advancements on the Spear Hero, huh? You're more formidable than you look, dear Rino._"

Rino's face brightened to a flushing red.

"T-That's not what I was…!"

Her outspoken words made Motoyasu flinch with surprise, but he had a good feeling as to what Lesty had said considering her reaction.

"C'mon, don't tease her like that." With his spear still leaning on his shoulder, he tapped it down afew times. "We were still trying to practice our combo magic from before. Rino really wanted us to get down that technique and we were able to pull it off this morning!"

"Well, I congratulate you two!" She clapped her hands and smiled at a tilt. "I look forward to seeing the combination in practice soon! I'm not much of a magic user, so it was great that Rino could provide that for you! Perhaps Elena might be more helpful on that than me."

"Oh yeah, I remember seeing Elena using magic during our first day together," Rino commented, "but I… haven't seen her use it ever since. Actually, I don't think I've seen her fight much at all lately."

She glanced over to the carriage where she could see Elena already inside the carriage. She made a quick glance up to see that the two briefly-missing people had returned and without another gesture, she continued reading.

Motoyasu didn't mind the attitude though. She demonstrated enough that he was able to rely on her if things got tough, but if she wanted to take it easy for a while as they dealt with the smaller fry, she was welcome to do so. He didn't want someone like Elena to be getting dirty.

If anything, he would have personally liked it if all the girls took it easy like Elena and Myne, sitting out in the backlines while he did all the work. However, Rino insisted that it felt wrong while Lesty bounced back and forth between helping and relaxing, depending on her mood that day.

"Nothing wrong with that. I trust that we can depend on her if we ever need the help."

"We should probably get going on, Sir Motoyasu," Myne suggested. "The cargo isn't going to be delivering themself."

"Yeah, you're right." Motoyasu made a bright smile. "Let's go help that famine."

* * *

**)**—**(\**IV**| Chapter 1-22 |**IV**/)|**—**(  
)\\( Stray Guidance )/(**

* * *

The village looked like any other village that Motoyasu had envisioned outside the capital, but the directed silence stares had been slightly unnerving, but it wasn't because he was creeped out about it. It was as if they watched with hope and considering what he was delivering to them, he was happy to provide.

After alerting the village chief of their arrival, the starving villagers had come and surrounded the carriage while Motoyasu helped out with distributing the food equally. There was a bit of shouting and chaos with people trying to get their portions ahead of others, but he was able to keep things to a humane level.

"Don't grab onto it! Stop sticking your hand out to steal some! We'll be giving them out accordingly! There's enough for everyone here and then some!"

Rino was already getting overwhelmed by the amount of people and without Lesty to assist her, she might have been stampeded due to her small size. Myne was by Motoyasu's side, handing him the correct portions while Elena stayed inside the carriage, merely watching over the main cargo in case someone tried to do anything funny.

He assumed that being the daughter of a merchant, she would be more accustomed to scenarios like this, but Motoyasu wondered if the reason she was an adventurer was that she followed after her father. Either way, they had the situation under control with the help of some of the chief's trusted members of the community lending a hand.

However, he saw a few young siblings through the outskirts of the people. They were skinny and they were looking onto the crowd like it was a great task to break through, clearly a sign of their hunger. They didn't have any parents that were present with them and once he noticed, Motoyasu couldn't ignore them.

"Myne, can you handle things here for me? I need to do something for a second."

"Sure, I'll be glad to. Don't take too long though."

Motoyasu took a few portions, one for each of the children and then an extra two, and held it all in his arms, being careful they weren't going to be yanked out. Once he managed to break through, he approached them with a warm smile contrasting their despair-ridened expression.

He had to crouch down to meet them properly.

"It must have been really frightening to try and get through all those people, right?"

The eldest child, who couldn't have been more than eleven years old, nodded after a delay. He started passing the portions to them as light started to fill their eyes.

"T-Thank you, sir…!"

With his hands all empty, he rubbed the head of the child.

"Keep your heads up high. You might be going through a terrible part of your life, but you just need to power through it. The good will eventually come; trust me."

To be honest, he really did hope his own words were true, but he wasn't showing his grimacing in front of them. He kept his cheerful expression, trying to uplift their moods, even by a little bit.

"Go off to your parents, alright? Make sure you get their share of the food to them."

As the children ran off, careful not to trip over and drop the given articles, the eldest one was still looking at him.

"Are you really the Spear Hero?"

"Yeah. I'm here to help everyone out because that's what we heroes do. We're not all about fighting; sometimes we have to lend a hand to people that need our help regardless of what troubles they have like a shortage of food."

"So cool…!"

Motoyasu couldn't help to chuckle.

"Stay happy like that and keep smiling. It won't make people less hungry, but they'll definitely be less cranky! Anyways, you should get going and catch up. I still need to help out the others here."

"Y-Yes, Spear Hero!"

He gave a little wave as the child ran away, but as the shadow disappeared from his sights, he felt a heavy weight off his chest. It felt painful to look at them, knowing that they've been suffering for who knows how long and considering how he was informed that this quest was up for a few days, he couldn't imagine what they've been going through.

With a heavy sigh, he returned to the carriage to help continue distribute the rations to the villagers.

He started to notice that this was merely a short-term plan. For each person and family, there definitely wasn't enough to last the village the entire week. Logically, the meals would have gone to the children first and foremost, but if they were looking almost like skin and bones, the famine must have been hitting hard.

After having everybody getting their share, the rest of the cargo was carried out to a village storage area near the village chief's home. The helpers and Motoyasu carried the heavy boxes over, neatly placing them down. The girls, on the other hand, were free to leave and relax for the day at spare rooms at the inn.

To be frank, all of them were spare; they were the only visitors here.

As they were almost finished, Motoyasu looked at the food that will disappear in the matter of a week and afterwards, he knew that the famine will simply continue like normal if nothing concrete was to be done.

"Excuse me? Spear Hero?" A call from a helper reached out at the storage's doors. Motoyasu realized he had been spacing out again. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I was just thinking about your famine problem."

His grip on the box lightened up, but his eyes remained to be glued to it. He felt like Naofumi's caring influence was urging him to step in and do something, if not for the fact he already wanted to do so. Though, it wasn't as if he had any ideas of where he could start.

"Say, this village's main source of income is agriculture, right? I think I saw some of the fields as I came into the area."

"Aye, you'd be right," the helper said, scratching his head. "We've been having problems with our crops this year and normally, that wouldn't be too bad of an issue. We always made enough to wiggle by, but this year has been devastating to us. With little to sell, we couldn't get to the end's meet. We did have the occasional adventurers to stop by our inns to help ease our economy's downfall, but it could only delay it for a short time."

"And I'm guessing the waves of destruction aren't making things any easier?"

"It certainly hasn't helped things around here. Ever since it started, people have been quite on edge lately and for extra salt in the wounds, traders became less frequent around these parts due to it."

"So it isn't entirely due to the lack of crops. It's everything combined together that started the famine." Motoyasu made a heavy sigh. "At a glance, it doesn't look like I can do much for this place. I wish I had some money I could donate to help out, but I'm running a bit low myself."

"Don't feel so bad for us, Spear Hero. We still have hunters, trying to get some of the bare minimum for the majority of us to survive until our next potential harvest. It's the reason why we were able to buy a shipment of rations from the capital, but we weren't able to properly get an escort for it."

"I still can't ignore this place. I feel like I have to do _something_ here to levitate the famine, even by a little bit."

Motoyasu circled himself with his thoughts, trying to parse through the different solutions he could strike, but he wasn't a professional. He was simply a university student that was majoring in something completely different and it wasn't as if he had hobbies that included fighting a famine. He only hung out with his friends and played [Emerald Online] in his spare time.

'_Wait, [Emerald Online]...?_'

"Say, you wouldn't happen to have an unexplored dungeon around these parts, would you?"

"Unexplored dungeons?" The helper pondered at the odd question, but he earnestly thought about an answer. "I think there are some ruins off in the outskirts of the village, being about an hour or two by foot. Not sure what it has to do with the famine, but you're welcome to check it out. You'll have to ask a bit more about it though; I'm not much of someone that knows a lot about ruins."

It was a shot in the dark, but he might have latched onto some type of miracle.

"Is it off to the west?"

The helper widened his eyes, surprised at the remark. "You already know about it?"

"No, it was just a hunch," Motoyasu wryly smiled. "Maybe even a blind guess! It would have looked appealing if I got it right without even knowing!"

"I see." The helper felt a bit of cheerfulness, seeing the Spear Hero's happy mood. "Anyways, as far as I know, very few people enter into that dungeon. I was told that the monsters, although there are not many, were strong there, but they mainly kept to themselves within."

"_Right down to the monster descriptions, huh?_"

"Did you say something, Spear Hero?"

He shook his head. "Just thinking to myself. That's all."

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

The next morning, Motoyasu was already awake, the first one of the group to see the dawn's breakthrough. He put his usual outfit back on and feeling refreshed, he knew what the plan was for the day. It was going to derive from the planned schedule of heading out further, but there was no rush since that was simply a way to fight more monsters and find new spears for himself.

He had his map set out on the table in the small lobby, preemptively marked by that same helper.

He believed he had enough medicine and potions for the trip, but he didn't exactly have the luxury of making a full set preparation within a famined village. He was simply trying to remember the ins-and-outs of the quest that belonged in [Emerald Online], the one that was becoming more and more similar as he thought about it.

If the knowledge all matched up correctly, there was something inside that dungeon that would be able to not simply alleviate it, but fix it entirely. He wished he did some further research about this world before setting off, but there wasn't much he could do about it now. All he could do was make it part of his checklist to see what other similarities this world shared with [Emerald Online] and allow his gut instinct to lead the way here.

"Sir Motoyasu? What are you doing?"

Myne's voice surprised him as she walked up behind him.

"A-Ah, Myne. It's you. I didn't think you would be awake already. Are the others up too?"

"Yep, everyone else is just getting themselves presentable. Bed heads and all that." Myne peeked over his shoulder to see the marked map and a broken concentration on Motoyasu's face. "Are you planning something out?"

"It's just a little something," Motoyasu said, glancing back to the map. He pointed to the dungeon's area for her. "If my guess is correct, we should be able to find something in these ruins that would help out the famine greatly. It might even solve that problem entirely."

"Doing something more for the villagers?"

"I can't stand it, knowing that they're suffering. If I'll be a Cardinal Hero, I'll do my best to make everyone happy and if possible, I'll exhaust all my options."

"And you believe the answer will be in the dungeon?"

"Hopefully."

He looked over his shoulder to see Myne's face a bit too close to his own. As the incognito princess, it was difficult to not be flustered at her beauty, but it was that same pain that was tearing him from thoughts for Naofumi. It cancelled each other out as he managed to keep a straight face, yet agonizing feelings.

He really just wanted to know what truly happened that night, but that was straying from the concern at hand. Tackling more than one at a time would surely lead to a half-assed result and that was the furthest thing he wanted to provide to them.

"Do you think everyone will be alright with this little sidequest?"

"You're the one leading us and we've chosen to follow you. Why wouldn't we be?"

"I only wanted to check with everyone," he sighed. He held his cheek up with a planted hand. His gaze, although leering down at the map, was a bit distant. "I've been worried that there was some type of problem going on that I didn't know about and I would rather the issue be brought up sooner before it would be too late."

"Sir Motoyasu, I trusted you when you went against the accursed Shield Demon and I felt warm kindness from you ever since. I know you mentioned that he was once a friend of yours, but have you ever considered that he was not the friend you thought he was?"

"It wouldn't be the first time I misjudged someone based on how they acted to me, but…"

The memories of Naofumi back in their apartment were as fresh as ever, even down to when he was hung over and developed a fever as Naofumi took care of him happily without a word of displeasure. His enjoyment and innocent cheers were something that he wanted to learn for himself, free of burdens and hidden agendas.

He really didn't want to think about a scenario where that had all been lies.

He wanted there to be a truth that was untold that painted the real story of both claims of victim and culprit. His hand slowly clenched itself as a grimacing expression half-emerged.

"... W-We're getting sidetracked."

Recovering himself, Motoyasu shook his head and collected up his map, standing up from his seat and moving away from the table. Myne slightly flinched when he suddenly left his seat, but she stepped out to let him do what he pleased. He hoped that she wasn't taken aback from the odd gesture.

"The village chief set aside some food for us for the morning, but I'm planning on going out for a bit due to that. I want to repay him with some monster meat that they could use. I'll be back soon and when I do, we'll be heading out to that dungeon. Tell the others to get themselves ready, alright?"

"Of course, Sir Motoyasu."

He took one step out the door, but it was almost as if he froze there. His hand was stuck on the doorknob, unable to twist as he glanced back to Myne once more.

"... Hey, Myne?"

"Yes?"

"If you were hiding your true thoughts and emotions from me, would you… tell me?"

"You already know how I feel towards you."

"... I see. Thanks."

He went off without another word, but the conflicting thoughts were swirling around in his head.

He had to say that the monsters around these parts hadn't looked filling to eat, but they hadn't been all rubber like the balloon monsters he encountered during the first days of this adventure. The monsters could only be easily described as demon boars, but the mark hadn't been exactly that.

Though, it mattered very little since they were all eventually just a stack of materials and meat in his inventory. He did manage to unlock a spear out of it, but there wasn't anything noteworthy about it.

However, his mind kept swinging back to the trial.

He wanted to talk to Naofumi so badly and so desperately, but Aldrecht said that it would only endanger himself and Naofumi in the process. The Church of the Three Heroes were the masterminds behind the whole dilemma and has their eyes apparently glued to all of his friends. Since he seemingly went against Naofumi, he allegedly didn't have the same level of spying security from the Church.

Though, he could only imagine his friend hating his guts right now, not to mention Ren and Itsuki whenever they found out. It definitely scared him by a margin, wondering if it truly was a good idea to have that desire to see him again.

As Motoyasu killed the last monster, his sights glanced up at the timer unlocked by the Dragon's Hourglass.

**[240 : 35]**

There was over a week left until the next wave began.

He wondered if the promise was still going to be kept, by whom, and for what reason.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

After providing the village chief with all of the earnings of his outing, the girls had been set to journey with him to the ruins. They took their carriage over there, making the trek a bit quicker, but it wasn't anything that would have cut the time by a large portion like a motorcycle or a car. The roads to the ruins were rather bumpy and they had to go carefully, but it gave everyone some ease on walking the entire way.

That alone was good enough for Motoyasu, as he kept up his walking pace. He positioned himself outside in order to defend against any possible monster flanks. However, there wasn't any that was too serious or warranted someone from the carriage to come out and help him.

After some time, Motoyasu could see the stone ruins built into a weathered cliff of red earth. The entrance had been blocked off by a sealed wall. To anyone's perspective, it looked like there wasn't anything worth mentioning, but Motoyasu came up and knocked on each part of the exterior wall until he felt a hollow sound emerge from the action.

Using only a normal skill, the wall was shattered into rubble, revealing the entrance for their access.

If he hadn't had evidence to believe that this was ripped straight out of [Emerald Online] before, the exact image of this dungeon would have been the nail in the coffin. The walls would regenerate after a while, so it was in their best interest to clear this dungeon while they weren't stuck inside.

However, Motoyasu made sure to mark the interior floor with his spear, just in case it occurred.

"So uh…?" Rino's voice called out to him as they stood by the entrance. "How is this going to help with the famine again? I don't remember you telling us clearly."

"If I'm right, then this dungeon has something called a Miracle Seed. It'll help the village with the famine if we're able to get our hands on it."

"Sir Motoyasu, you're quite smart! You even knew that the entrance was well hidden!"

Motoyasu got flustered at Myne's compliment, but didn't reveal any blushes.

"You're embarrassing me. This was nothing too complicated. I just knew about this place beforehand. I wasn't even sure if this place even existed, but I'm really glad it does. We can go save the villagers now."

If he had to be honest, it was rather strange that an environment from [Emerald Online] was here. He and his friends had already established that this world belonged to the book that he had brought home for Naofumi, so regardless of the similarities, it couldn't be treated as any more than a coincidence.

It aligned so much though.

Even the candles along the dungeon hallways had been in the same places.

In the game, the candles represented the time limit that the player had. The boss of the dungeon must be defeated before the candles burned out or else they would be booted back to the entrance. The main problem had been the maze that was between both sides, but it was discovered that there were only five different maze patterns and it wasn't akin to a randomization.

To compensate for the gimmick, the monster spawn rate was dialed down by a large margin.

He tried to follow the few versions that he did know about, but it kept leading the group to dead ends.

"M-Maybe Sir Motoyasu knew where he was going, but the execution was a bit mistaken…"

"I was sure this was the way though," he sighed at Lesty's wryly comment. "Maybe the layout was much different than I expected. I don't want to waste time by doing the failsafe strategy of all mazes by holding close to the right side, but…"

He decided to let his instincts carry him to the boss.

After wandering for a few minutes and dealing with the very occasional monsters, he started to feel a cool air emerge from down a path. Following it, they found themselves in a vast room that felt like some type of dream. It was obvious that the walls were made out of stone, but they were so blue and transparent that he could have mistaken it for ice.

Although, this didn't feel like a place where a boss battle would take place. In the game, it was a circular room where the dungeon's prize was held in the middle, propped up by an altar and surrounded by torches which screamed out evidence of a fight.

However, the contrast came in the form of a circular room that felt more like a research facility than a type of arena. Instead of torches and an altar, there was a lot of paperwork and lab equipment scattered around the area, unneatly thrown about as if a police squadron had swept the room.

"What is this place…?"

"You don't know?"

"The location is correct, but I didn't expect it to look like this."

He was starting to be scared that his second-hand knowledge was wrong.

"Look around for a seed of some type and tell me if you find one so I could check its validity. It should normally be in a small chest, but considering this wasn't what I was imagining, it might be held in some other manner."

As the group split up, Motoyasu was rolling over the different types of equipment that were cluttered. Some of them had signs of a fighting struggle, considering the damaged property and tipped furniture.

He knew the time limit was still going, as there were a few torches spread across the perimeter, but his curiosity started to get the better of him when he stepped on an old paper that looked like there was a spear on it. Picking it up, he started to read it on its crumbly sheet.

"_The continuation of the ultimate weapon's experiments._

"_Progress on the weapon's spear form had been successful. Upwards to ten spear forms could be inputted into the ultimate weapon and more are to be inserted eventually. _

"_However, it was later discovered that the individual replications were not problematic. It was when all of the weapons had been combined as a singular form when the energy levels started to become unstable. If the experimentation continues at a similar rate and the ultimate weapon is used without a proper solution, all of our progress will be reversed and all energy stored within will not be able to be exerted properly._

"_The next step will be determining a method to solve this problem, but the alchemist's cavern will not be good enough for a potential solution. The experiment will be moved to another location until further notice and different types of projects will be held here instead._

"_The path to creating the ultimate weapon, the replication of the heroes, has almost been completed. If this issue is fixed, this weapon will work as desired._"

Motoyasu had to admit that this was a bit hard to read. The rest had been technical jargon that Motoyasu couldn't begin to fathom what it might have been talking about.

"Replication of the heroes…?"

The hiragana was a bit faded out at some parts, but there was enough of it that he could guess what the paper was all about. His interest piqued at the final sentence, mentioning the projects that this dungeon held and his blissful heart was hopeful that the Miracle Seed was one of them since it matched the ingame description of it.

"Sir Motoyasu! We found a chest!"

On Lesty's call, he set the paper on a nearby table and walked over to see.

At the back of the room, there was an ornate chest that was tucked away underneath some of the rubble. Rino tried her best to move it out, but he gently pushed her aside to do the work himself.

With a deep breath, he placed his hand on the treasure chest, but he didn't open it up quite yet.

"I have a feeling that this isn't going to be given to us for free."

"What do you mean?"

"When I open this up, there's going to be bricks that fall from the ceiling and create a hostile golem. The entrance will be closed off when it does until we beat it, but from what I know, the fight shouldn't be too bad. I just need everyone to focus on supporting me and firing magic at it."

"I-I understand!"

"Then I suppose we should get ready."

Motoyasu nodded at Rino's and Elena's words as everyone drew their weapons outwards in preparation.

He opened the chest and inside, his hopes were pleased, seeing the familiar shape of the Miracle Seed, sitting in the interior cushions like an egg in a nest.

As he predicted, there was a crashing noise behind them and turning around revealed the golem monster who had crushed some of the equipment upon entry. It wasn't exactly the same design as the game, but with the Miracle Seed in hand, there wasn't much he could complain about, especially when their levels had exceeded the dropped monster.

Pocketing the seed into his inventory, Motoyasu stepped up and spun his spear to a fighting stance.

"Alright, follow my lead!"

The golem noticed Motoyasu's deft approach and started swinging its arm to crash him in his wake, but Motoyasu's speed had been too quick for the large monster. It crushed his shadow, tearing it up into broken earthen pieces as he turned back to deal a four hit combo on the hand. It was enough to tear it off the main body, but it hadn't been bothered.

As Motoyasu gave himself some space between him and the golem, he noticed that the broken bricks had started to regenerate itself back into the hand. It then grabbed one of the lab furniture and threw it at him.

He was going to block it until Rino's fire magic blew it up and Elena's wind magic blew the smoke and residue away. Lesty buffed him with an attack spell, giving the power, while Myne's onslaughting fire magic onto the main body gave him the opportunity.

He ran into the golem, dragging his spear into the air with a leap.

"[Fang Thrust]!"

Lighting up the speartip, the skill executed in an upwards slash and then a downwards attack. It finished up with piercing thrust that was able to push the golem's large body backwards.

He landed on his feet as the golem slid to a halt, pushing all of the environmental items with its heel.

The damage was rather visible, being a direct hit on the golem's chest. Bricks were shattered onto the ground and where they had been, there was a strange core tucked as the underlayer. It didn't take much time for the bricks to start raising back to where he landed his skill.

Offhandedly, he counted about five seconds where it was exposed.

It was rather obvious that this was the weak point of the boss, but the skill only swept away a small portion. He needed to hit it hard for it to open up with a wider gap.

"Sir Motoyasu, watch out!"

With Rino's concerned calls, he saw that the golem took up more of the surrounding debris and tossed them where he was. He managed to duck the first one and the second one was destroyed by the girls, but there was an unexpected third projectile that followed in the shadows.

The golem had detached its fist and it was flying right at him.

Motoyasu quickly started charging up another skill and struck its light into the bricked attack. He winced at the sheer impact his arms received, but the golem had worse things to worry about, having its arm shattering into dust.

He could still see the broken rubble begin to shake and recover back to the main body, but Motoyasu ran alongside it. Spells were being fired out to help him get closer, but its left arm swung at him through the magic. Motoyasu forced himself to jump back to dodge it, but that space gave itself enough time to regenerate its arm.

He wasn't getting through with any fancy footwork, not that he thought he could, so there was only one other solution he could pull off. That would have been by brute force.

"Rino! Come!" Motoyasu held out his spear while keeping his eyes on the golem. "Let's do our combo skill!"

"O-Okay!"

She ran up quickly and held out her staff to his spear, casting a basic [Faust Fire] skill. The power was still flowing through his weapon, alit by a burning torch as he pointed the tip towards the golem.

"Time to be defeated!"

He sped up, drawing closer to the golem as it opened its arms as if it was going to try and clap him between the palms. However, Motoyasu's mind was thrown off when it slapped those hands against the ground, blasting a huge gust of air to blow outwards. It was strong, but it wasn't enough to stop Motoyasu's siege.

"Take this! [Burning Fang Thrust]!"

Like before, he cleaved it upwards and downwards, but the damage had been exponentially more noticeable. The body was torn apart, bit by pieces, as Motoyasu finished the skill with a strong strike to the exposed core.

It started cracking and not before long, it shattered causing Motoyasu to continue flying through the golem and landing on his feet. The golem, without anything to hold it together, was consequently defeated, returning back into a pile of bricks.

"You did it, Sir Motoyasu!"

"You're so strong!"

"You really did take care of that monster easily!"

"It wasn't anything too…" Glancing back at the golem, he supposed it was quite an achievement and they were all cheering him on. "W-Well, I guess that was a good job well done, right?"

Grabbing part of the shattered golem core, he managed to unlock another spear that improved his general status. It might have been handy someday in the future if he ever needed the improvement.

Moreover, Motoyasu was merely glad that it went so nicely.

Or so he assumed.

The room started to tremble as Motoyasu staggered to catch his footing. The girls on the other side of the room were feeling the same shaking.

"W-What's going on!?"

"An earthquake!? Is the dungeon falling apart!?"

The method that the dungeon would kick players out to the entrance would be through a method of collapse. It would send the party down into a lower dungeon, one without a time limit, forcing them to make their way out in order to restart the time limit with a newly constructed maze. Killing the boss would stop the time limit, so this was likely another difference in this world.

"But why…!?"

However, they should have at least a few more minutes to make it out. He didn't understand the reasoning for the premature collapse, but when he looked at the surrounding torches, he widened his eyes.

They were all blown out.

"That clap against the ground…!? The golem was smart enough to take out the flames in its final moments…!?"

The ground underneath him started to crumble as he saw the girls descend down with him.

There was a stone slide in its place, most likely the forced path to the penalty dungeon. All of the rubble and broken furniture had fallen with them, causing it to be difficult to see the other girls. He could still hear their screams of confusion and fear.

The slides were split up ahead and there wasn't any way for him to get to the girls in time.

"You four, stick together and find a way out! I'll figure out my own exit on my side! Stay safe!"

Those were his last words to them before their shouting became nothing more than an echo while the slide dropped him off a large hole. He braced himself and clenched his body, expecting the fall to hurt a bit.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

"U-Urgh…"

He could hear his own groans pulsating through his ears. His body felt stiff from such a drop, but he hadn't suffered much damage. His mind was more concerned with the others and if they were able to get off the slide safely, but he needed to start moving about. If they were together, there shouldn't have been any monsters that they weren't capable of taking down.

All that was left on the checklist was for him to either regroup or find the exit. He preferred getting the former before the latter though.

He lit a nearby torch, thanks to what little knowledge he had of fire magic, and took it in his hand as he started surveying his surroundings. This place had looked exactly like the dungeon above, given its different layout.

Staring into the darkness, there was only one thing to do.

"... It's a bit…. lonely by myself. No matter. It's only temporary."

He began travelling through the corridors, hitting almost every dead end that he could find.

There were a few monsters he easily dealt with and some more spears that were unlocked. He found a few monster corpses on the ground that were fresh, meaning that the girls must have been through here. Rino's fire magic must have been the thing to char its fur.

There was a relief that they were in the same maze, but regardless, it was still a maze.

"I have to be getting closer. There's only so many dead ends that exist here…"

As he continued, there was a subtle ringing in his ear that started to show up. It might have been an effect of a certain monster he hadn't encountered here yet, but existed in the game. He wondered if this had been its effect, stalking him from the shadows. They don't have any direct combat abilities, but what they could do was—

"_Dearest Motoyasu? Is that really you?_"

Motoyasu's chest tightened and his body shook.

His breathing started to get heavy, gulping every moment he could get.

"_I-It's… It's just a trick by those monsters…_" he told himself. "_They're not… actually…_"

"_We're not actually what, Motoyasu?_"

When he turned around, the world around seemed to collapse into a dark void. Two spotlights flickered in the distance, far away from where he stood, but he didn't need to be close to them to be able to see their nondescript expressions. Their eyes were tucked away under their bangs, but even while he tried to stand with his sanity, it was starting to crumble underneath his feet like the torch trap he suffered.

His foot instinctively took a step backwards.

"I… I didn't…" He held onto his head. "I-I didn't mean to have it end up like…"

"_Hmm? What's a bitch like you doing here?_"

"_Mind your business. All I wanted to do was meet my Motoyasu._"

"_Your Motoyasu?_"

"_Indeed, he was mine from the beginning._"

They weren't talking to him anymore; they were starting to speak to each other in a violent tone.

"_Wasn't it your fault that I _died_? You should go to hell for that._"

"_No, it was your dirty hands that caused me to _die_. You're the one that should be burning there._"

Flashes of his memories started to flicker before his eyes as the longing pain was arising from his stomach.

"N-No… I-It was my fault! Don't be blaming anyone else! It was all my fault!"

His back foot kicked himself into a frantic run, but no matter how quickly or how long he moved, the spotlights didn't seem like they were getting any closer to him. Not even reaching out was doing anything to help him, but as he ran, they started moving towards each other with the same murderous atmosphere that he could remember clearly.

He could remember the blood.

He couldn't remember whose blood was on him.

There was an audible scream that reached the heavens.

He didn't understand.

Why was happiness so hard to give to other people?

He wanted them to smile and he believed that everything was alright, but the clues were already showing along their words and actions. He simply didn't want to see any of that and chose to believe his own truth, spun together by convenient lies. All he wanted to see were those smiles.

A smile.

Blood.

Another smile.

More blood.

He could remember all the beautiful smiles that they both gave to him, but it was the blood stained on his hands as he cried his heart out that left the everlasting impression on him. If he could have done anything differently, he needed to trust them in order to understand them.

It was his fears that were the knives that killed them.

"_Motoyasu is mine! If you weren't around, he would have never been strayed away from me!_"

"_You were corrupting him with your devilish acts! Motoyasu deserves to be with me!_"

"No! Stop it!"

As the figures attacked each other, he felt a sharp stab sensation on his side. His feet stopped running as he glanced out to see an unbelievable amount of blood gushing outwards, gradually feeling his strength becoming lost in the conflict.

His hand, consumed by the stain, flashed a younger palm before seeing his current hand dyed in the colour.

When he looked back up to the figures, they were both lying limp underneath the light. He forced himself through the pain to walk up; the world allowed him to do so, as he hyperventilated at the gruesome scene.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"

He fell to his knees, being drenched in the growing puddle that emerged from both of their bodies.

"_I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…_"

His hands finally felt onto the soaked ground as tears started to dripped down, mixing its transparent colour into its redness, consumed without making a difference in its shade.

"I just… wanted everyone to be happy…"

His voice croaked.

"It's my fault that it ended up like this… I should have trusted them more…"

Their lifeless expressions merely looked up from the ground to him.

"_I… I shouldn't have survived. Why was I allowed to live…?_"

His body gave up, slumping over the puddle far enough for his head to be touching the blood. All he could feel was the voice shouting out into the empty black void, reflecting his own screams back to him.

"_Ikuyo! Momiji!_"

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

Motoyasu suddenly opened his eyes to find his body leaning back against a wall underneath the midday sun. With sweat dripping down his forehead and a restless heart, his head was in a deep swirl and was due for a major headache in a few moments.

"H-He's awake!"

The voice came from Rino who was by his side as he woke up.

As she shouted it out, all the other girls ran up to check on how he was doing, but his vision had been blurry from waking up so quickly. His throat was dry and he wanted to collapse, but he had enough strength to keep himself up.

"W-What happened? Where am I?"

"We're outside the dungeon, Sir Motoyasu," Elena answered, handing him some type of fruit. He took it without any question, noticing a bit of a citrus aroma to it. It smelt rather calming, exactly what he needed in this situation. "Your screaming pulled us towards you as you were getting attacked by Voice Gengars."

"My screaming, huh?" he smiled wryly. Looking around, he was indeed just outside of the dungeon. The actual entrance had closed up again. "I probably seemed super uncool, wasn't I? I guess those Voice Gengars manipulated my senses and I lost control of myself. Everyone dragged me up here, right?"

"You were a bit heavy, but it wasn't anything too problematic," Lesty reassured. "Elena, Rino and I were more concerned with the random outbursts of shouting rather than the weight."

Motoyasu chuckled. "Then I owe everyone here a favour. Thanks."

"You should suck on that fruit," Myne pointed out. "Elena found it nearby and she says it helps with curing mental attacks."

Elena merely shrugged. "It's a bit convenient that there's a poriane tree right next to the place where you can suffer from what they can cure, but hey. There's no need to complain about such a thing. Though, there's only a single tree and the number of fruit it produces is limited, so we should count ourselves lucky."

There had already been a cut opened up for him as he sucked on it like a lemon, only without the sour part to it. Actually, it suspiciously tasted like an orange mixed with a peach despite the different colour and more elliptical shape.

He could feel his headache moving away already.

"Thanks again," Motoyasu said while he tried to stand back up. He staggered with his footing, causing Elena and Lesty to be moving to catch him if he fell, but he managed to plant himself straight without any assistance. "Let's head back to the village quickly and get the Miracle Seed to the village chief."

"Are you sure you can move around like that?" Myne asked. "You didn't look like you were in your right mind when you woke up."

"I'm flattered that you care about me, but I think I should be fine. This fruit really did help me out a lot." He took another drink out of the fruit's juice and followed up with a smile. "See? No problem here!"

"I feel like you're forcing yourself, Sir Motoyasu…"

"I'm fine! Really!" He grinned at Rino. "It'll take a lot more than that to take me down!"

"If Sir Motoyasu says he's fine, we should believe him. Arguing about it won't do any good," Elena said. "Getting back to the village should be our priority here."

"Erhm, I suppose that makes sense," Lesty murmured. "The carriage should be around the corner."

As the girls led the way for him, Rino glanced back to Motoyasu.

"Sir Motoyasu? Are you hiding your true feelings? You sounded like you were in distress when you were trapped in those attacks."

Motoyasu tried to put on his usual cheerful aura.

"W-What? N-No! Why would I? It was just a little nightmare I saw during the Voice Gengar attacks. There's really nothing for you to worry about. I promise!"

Rino kept her stare, grimacing in his response.

"A-Alright then."

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

The village chief was pleasantly surprised to see what had been given to him. He didn't know what it was, but Motoyasu quickly explained to him that he went out to the dungeon in order to get the Miracle Seed for the village. When it was planted, it would produce an abundant amount of food for the residents to eat. He was willing to give it up for free as a samaritan action from him which made the village chief almost jump for joy, if he hadn't been at the age where doing so would look unprofessional and weird.

However, the village chief brought up an odd comment as he mentioned the ruins.

Apparently, it belonged to a powerful alchemist in the distant past, but it remained unexplored because it was sealed with some type of powerful barrier. Motoyasu was a bit surprised, considering that the only real issue had been trying to find where the entrance was. He didn't even feel any type of barrier nor did anybody in the party.

The village chief merely disregarded that little point and decided to see if the seed would produce the mentioned results, planting it in the middle of one of the dying crop fields. Motoyasu watched as he prayed that he had been right.

Almost instantly, his hopes were satisfied. It took no more than ten seconds for the plant to immediately start growing with a large stalk and fruit started to grow along its branches. It was a bit weird how it happened so quickly, but it simply meant the famine was solved that much quicker.

The cheering from the onlooking villagers affirmed that notion.

After giving themselves a bit of rest of the day, it was back into the carriage to travel around in order to get stronger and help more people in need as a hero.

That's what he would have wanted, but the girls had unanimously agreed that they should take a break for the rest of the day. He had no quarrel with their decision, so he ended up lying down in his room for a bit, letting them do whatever they wanted to do.

After lying for a few minutes, he started to think it was a bad thing to do.

Every time he closed his eyes, the ringing of his ears would restart and the violent scenes of what happened half a decade ago would start playing in his head.

He knew he lied to Rino.

He knew he wasn't fine.

However, this burden wasn't something that needed to be shared. People deserve to feel happy, but they shouldn't need to feel pity for what happened to him in the past. That despair belonged to him and him alone as a constant remainder of reality.

That was the reason why he hasn't told Naofumi or Ren about it.

Itsuki had only known due to an accident out of his control, but if he had the choice, he would have kept it a secret from him too.

Motoyasu felt a heavy weight, crushing his chest as he laid still on the bed, only for the door to be knocked on a few times. He quickly pushed it off and brought out his casual expressions, calling out to the visitor.

"Come in."

He noticed the incognito princess emerged from the door before closing it behind her.

"Sir Motoyasu, I believe we need to have a private conversation."

Raising his eyebrows, he swept his legs off the bed and brought himself sitting upright. He was a bit concerned that Myne might have been chasing after the same problem Rino was bringing up, but he held his tongue, trying to not put any emphasis on that.

"What's up? You haven't been enjoying this break of yours?" he asked jokingly.

"No, it's not that. I've come in contact with some rather frightening news for you. I honestly don't know how to tell you this since you've told me that you and the other Cardinal Heroes were friends, but…"

Motoyasu straightened his back.

"But what?"

"... Well, the Sword Hero has been arrested back at the capital."

Motoyasu had merely blinked at the revelation.

He didn't have the words to express his utter confusion.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

**Author's Notes :**

someone please end me

i just needed to get some shit out there fuck me grahhhhhhhh let me out of this arc alreadyttttttttttttttt

i cheated with this chapter got lazy fucking sue me

wake me up wake me up inside i cant wake up wake me up inside saveeeeeeeee meeeeeeeeeeee

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|—(  
SKIT 041 : Their Names**

[Rino] : "Are you… really alright, Sir Motoyasu?"

[Motoyasu] : "I-I'm fine… You don't need to worry about the great Spear Hero, after all!"

[Lesty] : "You've been talking while you were unconscious though. It sounds like you were in a really bad nightmare from that monster's mental attacks."

[Motoyasu] : "I'm telling you two that it was nothing! You don't need to worry about me that much! It was… just a bit scary, that's all! A few frights and that was it! Talking about it will probably bring back some of the nightmares later tonight, so it's probably for the best that we leave the topic."

[Rino] : "I-Is that so…?"

[Motoyasu] : "Y-You know what we _should_ talk about!? What I'm going to be cooking tonight! I managed to get enough food in my morning hunt to reserve enough for a midday meal before we head off into other places in Melromarc! Though, I think it's a lot better if I show you rather than tell you! C'mon, let's get back to town!"

[Rino] : "..."

[Lesty] : "..."

[Rino] : "H-Hey, Lesty? Do you… really think Sir Motoyasu is okay?"

[Lesty] : "I think the answer was… kinda clear from how he was talking."

[Rino] : "I just wonder what happened with Sir Motoyasu and the people named Ikuyo and Momiji…"

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|—(  
SKIT 041 : Voice Gengars**

[Elena] : "You know, this isn't my place to mention this, but… Eh, never mind. I guess there's no need to bring up anything that will lead to nothing."

[Rino] : "Huh!? You can't just start off like that and not finish your thought! Now I'm curious!"

[Lesty] : "You were thinking about the Voice Gengars and how they affected Sir Motoyasu, right?"

[Elena] : "Oh? If you want to explain it to her, feel free. I'll just be on my way."

[Rino] : "Ah! She actually left!"

[Lesty] : "Well, Rino? Do you know about the Voice Gengar monster?"

[Rino] : "Those guys? Yeah, obviously. They're monsters that manipulate your thoughts and memories using their screeching voices and when you're down from it, they come in to kill you. That's why it's very dangerous to approach an area with Voice Gengar sightings by yourself. You need a team to deal with it. It's basic adventuring lessons!"

[Lesty] : "That's not actually the full story."

[Rino] : "Huh?"

[Lesty] : "I heard that Voice Gengars can be resisted when someone has good mental fortitude. Adversely though, those with weaker mentalities will take the attacks very hard."

[Rino] : "... Oh."

[Lesty] : "I think Elena is simply concerned whether Sir Motoyasu has the quality to be the Spear Hero if he was heavily affected by their attacks like that. I've never heard of someone taking a Voice Gengar attack as terribly as Sir Motoyasu did."

[Rino] : "_S-Sir Motoyasu…_"

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**


	24. Chapter 1-23 : Everlasting Conviction

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

Being a captain of Melromarc's knights was never a job to be taken lightly. There was never a chance to even see it as a simplicity to life and in fact, it was guaranteed to make things even more difficult. Everything must be approached with the greatest of care and the utmost of efficiency, not to mention that it must be the most correct solution to the problem at hand.

It wouldn't be hard to imagine the type of stress that a person would need to hold in their arms everyday in order to be a functional leader for his soldiers, but none of the knights would have been able to guess such heavy thoughts would plague their steadfast captain's mind.

To the rookies and to the veterans, to the nobles and to the civilians—Lothringen Vortigern was the ideal knight. He, under the close command of the king and queen alongside his colleagues, helped to uphold the country's peace whenever the presence of Melromarc's knights were needed. There was no faltering from that ideology that he respected so much, yet he found himself in doubts these days.

When the Cardinals Heroes were to be summoned, he stepped forward immediately to assist Aldrecht with the ritual to ensure that it hadn't gone wrong. To be honest, that was simply half the story.

Even men in their mid-forties have their idols that they kept close to their hearts.

For Lothringen, he looked up to the Cardinal Heroes, uninfluenced by the teaching of the Church of Three Heroes. It was their legends that inspired him to be a man that protected his country's peace and to meet them while guiding them in their guide from afar had been a dream come true.

And yet, that had only been a dream.

It was still a dream that was yet to be seen coming from the horizon.

People saw his investigation into the situation of the Shield Hero to be noble of him, letting himself be tasked with something so important that related to the Cardinal Heroes, but it wasn't anything of the sort. Lothringen simply didn't want to believe that the Shield Hero would dare commit a heinous crime against the princess, whether he knew that to be her identity or not. He didn't bother with investigations normally, knowing that his knights were already more than enough to conduct them properly.

However, he wanted to see the evidence for himself and if he couldn't come to a conclusion, he wanted to allow the wise king to be able to make his informed analysis on the matter. Though at the time, he felt rather shaken when not even half of the evidence had been presented when the wise king decided on the Shield Hero's fate.

When the hero had left the castle gate, he knew he simply needed to trust in the king's decision for that would have been the best outcome. There was no reason to doubt it, the man who helped bring victory to Melromarc during the Siltvelt War and the ruler that held peace between the nations alongside the queen.

However, as much as his steeled resolution was on the streets, he was completely taken aback discovering the incident within the Church and its correlation to the Sword Hero and eventually the Shield Hero. He knew what needed to be done, but it didn't make the job any easier to do.

In a way, he was thankful for Zellus' interruption, but in front of his knights, there was no simple way to express his gratitude. He should consider himself lucky that Zellus was so insistent on fighting them, despite the fact he only bought in the Sword Hero.

It was a bright day outside.

It was much too bright for what the capital was facing these days.

He left the castle, heading over to the Church of the Three Heroes. It had been a few days since the proclaimed attack of the Sword Hero, but something about it didn't sit right with him, as did the crimes of the Shield Hero. Once again, he took it upon himself to conduct an investigation, but it took this long for the Church to properly give him access to the crime scenes.

As he was passing down the streets, he noticed a familiar face out of the corner of his eyes

There was no need to call out for him; that man had done so already for him.

"Oh, Captain! Fancy seeing you here!"

"Weren't you supposed to be on castle patrol?"

"Yeah, but that was boring! Nothing was happening!" A grin was all that was needed to say everything else, as well as the retort for what Lothringen had been thinking. "I had one of the rookies take the job in my place! See? I wasn't going to just up-and-leave the position and all!"

"But you did."

"Ah, don't sweat the smaller details!"

Lothringen had that familiar exasperation welling in his throat, accumulating in a deep sigh. He walked off with Zellus following him like a tamed monster trying to ask for their meals.

"Anyways, the Church finally got off their high horse and allowed you to come investigate for yourself?"

"I wouldn't phrase it as such, but yes. After conducting their own investigation, they have allowed the knights to come in for our own. I already have people at the library to record evidence and observations."

Zellus grunted, averting himself from the captain. "Do you really think that you'll find anything? It sounds pretty clear that the Sword Hero came and attacked the Church's library."

"And yet, there was no claim that it was the Sword Hero specifically. We had a description, not a name, as a witness testimony. It was entirely possible that someone may be posing as the Sword Hero."

"I don't think there'll be anything concrete that points otherwise. If that was the case, I would have beaten up the Sword Hero for nothing!" Zellus jested, laughing at his own joke. "It would definitely leave a bad taste in his mouth!"

"I hope he will be understanding."

"Eh, don't count too much on things going our way," Zellus quickly replied, holding that usual whimsical air as he spoke. "Wouldn't it be much more interesting if it didn't?"

He shook his head. "I'd rather have control over the situation than allowing fate to decide."

Zellus, in turn, scratched his head in the response. "Yeah, what other response was I really expecting?"

Lothringen noticed that Zellus was walking side by side with him for some time, even as they approached the street to where the Church had been. He hadn't been much of a man for these types of jobs, so he wondered about the change of heart. Though, he doubted it was as such, but he merely wanted to ensure it.

"Are you accompanying me to the investigation site?"

"Nah. I got no reason to." He gazed over to the direction of the Church, where the pointed roofs baring its rightful crest were visible. His voice had dropped somewhat from the upbeat tone. "I won't find anything for me at the Church anyways. They probably already moved it again."

Lothringen furrowed his eyebrows.

"What are you talking about?"

"Ah, it's nothing important." He dismissively waved the subject matter away with his smile. "I was only thinking out loud, that's all! You wouldn't understand even if I sat you down at a tavern and explained everything to you from the bottom up. My recommendation for the menu, don't bother."

Lothringen groaned. "I haven't for a long time, Zellus."

"Speaking of which!" Zellus sped up and stopped Lothringen in his tracks, pumping his fist at the captain's chest. "Are you available for tonight? Our usual tavern just came out with a new meal to their menu! Perfect opportunity to get some alcohol into our system!"

"I appreciate the offer, but I must regretfully decline."

"Oh, come on!" Zellus stomped the ground like a child not getting their requested toy. "You really look like you needed to lighten up over the last week or so! Especially since the Shield Hero's trial! It's fine to take breaks now and then! Look, I'll even pay for both of our portions! It'll be my treat!"

"Once again, I must decline. I rather focus on concluding my investigations first and foremost before treating myself to anything, even if it's on someone else's copper." Lothringen averted his gaze from Zellus' hopeful eyes, but if the offering knight had been expecting anything else, that would have been the unexpected route. "Besides, I have not done anything worth a reward yet considering the circumstances. Perhaps you can hold off your reservations until this whole mess is over."

"Which mess could you be referring to?" Zellus took a few steps over to have his body be seen in his captain's perspective. However, Lothringen could not see his expression. "Are you talking about simply the Sword Hero incident? Or is there a bigger mess that you want to deal with beforehand?"

"I want the ordeal with the Cardinal Heroes to be finished. Not simply the Sword Hero, but I want to ensure that there are no more loose ends when it concerns the four Cardinal Heroes. I pray that there won't be any problems concerning the Spear Hero and the Bow Hero."

"Huh. What a coincidence."

Brushing it aside, Lothringen regained his posture. He didn't bother to ask any further about what Zellus' coincidence might be and even if he did, it would have ended up as a vague response. He was always trying to dodge his way out of straight answers if he didn't want to part with the information that easily.

Zellus was always the kind to drop hints, but never elaborate what type of hints he was dropping.

"Anyways, I've wasted enough time with you. You should move on with your assigned duties that I've given you, but you'll likely ignore that."

For Zellus' ten years old service, Lothringen still didn't have a surefire way to get the troublesome knight to work, always throwing it up to a coin flip. If it wasn't for his usefulness of his power and insight, he would have been executed a long time ago.

"At the very least, ensure that the streets are safe."

Chuckling, Zellus made a playful salute. "As always, Captain."

Lothringen promptly started walking down towards the Church. "I'll be on my way now. I wish you luck and if you do head out tonight for that new meal," he said as a subtle smile emerged from the normally-stoic expression, "I hope you enjoy it to great extent."

As Zellus watched the back of his Captain, he could only take a deep breath, seeing the utter stiffness in his words. However, it was combined with that sense of familiarity that made it less cringe-worthy, a mutual bond that was surprisingly worked up ever since he joined the knights.

Even if Lothringen wouldn't have used the word, Zellus would have liked to see them as friends.

That alone was the reason why he dropped everything in his past and started to fight for the Captain. To be honest, he was never interested in the knights as a whole and felt no obligations to prioritize the people, but ever since Lothringen had shown him his strength, he became very intrigued that a normal man had such conviction.

More so than his original target could ever garner from him.

"Sneaking up behind someone is rather rude, you know?"

He didn't even bother to turn around to feel the shadow's presence behind him, starting to make their approach the moment Lothringen left. He had to guess that they were currently disguised as a normal civilian, but those finer details were of no concern to him. Maybe it looked weird to the average passerby, but no one was stopping to stare at the interaction.

"Lord Aldrecht has a job for you."

"Can't that old mage come and meet for me himself?" He turned his head slightly, but made no visual contact with the shadow. "Was it so urgent that he had to proxy the message with one of your kind?"

"It is indeed urgent and must be addressed immediately."

The shadows weren't the type of people that Zellus could get any sort of reaction out of. Despite being able to tell the difference between each one, he couldn't really care much about them in the slightest, considering only a small subset of them were able to fight. Even then, they were merely assassins, not any of the dueling kind.

"Okay, so I'll ask. What's up?"

"The Spear Hero has been reported to arrive at the western gates of the capital."

Zellus' ears twitched as his interest became piqued. "Oh? I thought the Spear Hero wasn't supposed to be around these parts during this time. Was this intention to return added into our operative's report?"

"Correct. They were planning to make attempts in deterring the Spear Hero from returning, but they have been unsuccessful. Our intel says that the Spear Hero has learnt about the Sword Hero's situation. The extent of this knowledge is unknown."

"So Aldrecht wants me to be the last line of defense? Pick up on our little operative's slack? Isn't that right?"

"That is also correct."

"_Oh boy_, more work for me," he groaned. "But while you're here, could you pass something to Aldrecht for me? I found something the other day that might be a bit interesting."

Out of his coat, he pulled out a book. The material dated itself to be quite the old text, but looks were more deceiving before. If there had to be any type of idiom applied, judging a book by its cover was indeed one of them. He would have liked to hand it in sooner, but the contents of the book had been too interesting for him to not read over it.

In the end, he concluded that it ended up being a waste of his time.

Adversely, the books that Ren and Batka had uncovered were more than a treat for his eyes.

He held it over his shoulder and felt the grip of the shadow taking it into their care.

There was no word for confirmation, not that there needed to be any.

Zellus finally turned around to see that the shadow had already ran away. However, he glanced down one of the nearby alleyways where the shadow had fled towards. Though their footsteps were light and hard to track, they weren't impossible to listen to after getting used to how they moved.

With a deep sigh, Zellus brought his hands behind his head, resting it along the interlocked fingers.

He started walking down the streets, humming an unfamiliar tune to the public ears.

He had his orders.

It was another thing to consider if he was going to follow them at all.

* * *

**)**—**(\**IV**| Chapter 1-23 |**IV**/)|**—**(  
)\\( Everlasting Conviction )/(**

* * *

"... So uh, Sir Motoyasu? Could you explain once more why we suddenly came back to the capital?"

The group had been getting an inn for them near the heart of the capital since rushing over as soon as they could. Even throughout the carriage ride here, Motoyasu stayed silent within his constant worry for Ren's well-being and reputation. He knew from what Aldrecht told him that the Church was not to be trusted, but from what Myne told him, Ren had supposedly attacked the Church's library for whatever reason.

He was trying to possibly figure out what could have happened through the time it took to get here that he completely forsaken addressing the main issue towards his party members.

It was only by Elena's suggestion to grab a room that broke him out of his bubble. If it hadn't been for her words, he would have immediately stormed the castle in his demands to let Ren out. Thinking back on it, it sounded like a ridiculous approach, even if he was the Spear Hero. Even so, that was what he wanted them to allow him to do.

As Rino asked the question as the keys to their rooms were handed over, Motoyasu answered rather vaguely.

"Something came up that I needed to check out for myself." He looked over to the girls, holding the back of his head. "Sorry if I was dragging you all around just for something as simple as that. It felt really important to me that I had to get here as soon as I could, but you'll have to forgive me for not providing any more details than that."

He didn't want his party members to start getting the wrong impression of Ren.

He simply wanted to get this entire mess cleared up as soon as possible. It could have been a perfectly valid thought that the Church might have framed Ren if what he assumed was to be correct, but there were massive leaps in assumptions that were made and frankly, he didn't want to be blindly pointing fingers when he didn't know the full story.

That would have made him have a sour taste in his mouth, being a remainder of Naofumi's trial.

"Oh, it's not much of a problem," Rino responded, waving her hand forwards. "I only wanted to know the general idea of why we're here. If it's something that you see as important business, then by all means, Sir Motoyasu!"

"Is this going to take awhile?" Elena asked.

"To be honest, I don't know." Motoyasu sighed heavily, almost drooping his arms forward in a depression. He could tell that Elena wasn't too satisfied with the answer. "I'm hoping it doesn't take too long, but I can't make any promises either."

"Either way, you don't need us for whatever you need to do, right?"

He nodded. "Preferably, it'll be better if I do this by myself."

Elena's subtle tenseness seemed to have disappeared with that response. "Glad to hear it. We'll hang back at the inn and spend time around the capital."

He was happy that Elena and Rino were understanding and considering how Myne was the one to inform him beforehand, she would have been alright with letting him go off by himself to see what's going on with Ren.

However, the only person that had concerns was Lesty.

"Uhm, are you sure you should be doing… whatever you need to do here?"

When Motoyasu revealed that they were heading back to the capital, she was the one more bewildered by the abrupt decision. It was as if she was trying to turn him away from making such a move, but after Myne took her to the side and discussed some words with her, she eventually stopped gatekeeping the choice and allowed him to return.

He didn't understand her perspective, but she hadn't been saying anything else during the ride over here.

"I mean, the waves of destruction are coming up soon and I don't think backtracking is a good way to prepare for such an important task."

"We're already here," Elena refuted. "We might as well stick around and let Sir Motoyasu tie up any loose ends that he wants to finish. If there were any moments to stop him, it was back at the village."

"Yeah, I realized that, but…"

"It'll be fine, Lesty!" Myne followed up. "We can trust Sir Motoyasu to be off by himself. He's the Spear Hero, after all!"

Lesty tried to smile, but it was evident that there was some type of suppressed conflict arising. She twiddled her thumbs behind her back before making a bitter smile, as if there was something else she had been hiding.

All that resulted was a wryly smile as she brought her head forwards to speak with him.

"You'll tell us if there's anything wrong, right?"

"Y-Yeah," Motoyasu instinctively replied. "Of course. If it's something I can't handle by myself, the next course of action would be to have everyone help me out. I just didn't want to bother everyone if it's really meant for a one-man job."

"That just makes our lives easier," Elena commented, making herself at home at one of the nearby lobby seats. "No point in moving around with Sir Motoyasu if we're not needed."

"But what if he gets jumped or something like that?" Rino asked, most likely seeing what Lesty was trying to imply. "He's still one person against a group of alleyway thieves!"

"Then he shouldn't be heading into the alleyways in the first place," Elena quickly retorted back. "If he did that, he walked into that problem himself."

"I'll try not to raise concerns with everyone," Motoyasu laughed lightly, rubbing the back of his neck. "For now, think about the next few days as a little break from our journey of getting stronger! Everyone surely deserves it and it's a well-earned moment of relaxation before the waves of destruction!"

"I got an idea," Myne announced, turning to the rest of the girls. "I know just the place for that! There's a spa on the other side of town that is simply glorious!"

"Oh, that's a perfect place for you girls," Motoyasu cheered. "Spas are great for unwinding yourself!"

"You don't mean that ultra-expensive one, right?" Rino widened her eyes. "I wouldn't be able to afford to walk _near_ the building!"

"It's fine, Rino! It's one of the best ones in Melromarc and it's all worth its value." Lesty twirled around the shorter girl and wrapped her arms around the adorable stature. Her mood shifted quite rapidly, probably thanks to Myne's recommendation. "You'll feel like a brand new person when you step out from their treatment!"

"With the money I have available," Myne said, "it'll be my treat! I'll even pay for everyone here!"

Elena's ears twitched as Myne mentioned that.

"I was thinking about staying back at the inn, but if you're offering, it would be a big waste to let it be taken down the river."

"You would really do that, Myne?" She looked upwards to her with thankful eyes. "That's really nice of you!"

"Erhm, not to take away from the whole gesture, but are you sure you should be doing that?" Motoyasu intervened. He got shot by a chilling dagger off the corner of his eyes by Elena, but he proceeded with what he was trying to convey. "If anything, I should be paying up everyone here. I'm the one who brought you girls here after all, so it only makes sense that I pay for your pleasure."

"What a gentleman, but it's not needed, Sir Motoyasu." Myne grabbed onto his hands, smiling at him. "I have more than enough to treat my dear friends to a day of relaxation. You should save your money for equipment and items for when we're on the field."

"Are you sure?"

"You already divide up the guild rewards with us, on top of buying us the equipment and meals that we need," Lesty added on. "I can imagine that your wallet is looking a bit thin right about now! Give it a little break from time to time!"

Motoyasu wryly laughed, considering she hadn't been exactly wrong.

He started to take a few steps over to the door, passing the keys over to Myne and Elena for their rooms.

"I'll be heading off now. Everyone, take care! I'll be back by sunset at the very most!"

The girls made waving gestures back to him, saying their temporary goodbyes for the day.

He was happy that all the girls were getting along so well with each other. He wondered if he had been honest in his past, none of those recollecting events would have risen up. Since getting those nightmares by that Miracle Seed cavern, he couldn't help to think about those two girls whose lives were lost because of him every time he looked at the party.

He merely hoped that nothing would break apart this group.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

To be honest, Motoyasu had no idea where he should start.

It would have been the easiest idea to approach the castle and make demands, but he couldn't figure out what it is he wanted in the first place, despite rushing into the capital without hesitation. Naofumi always said that he acted first and thought about things later frequently when his emotions got the handle of his head. Ren would always berate him for that, but this most likely wasn't the best time to be reminiscing.

He had guessed that the Church of Three Heroes did something towards Ren that caused his arrest under the Melromarcian Knights. It was obvious that he simply needed to prove that the arrest was based on false accusations, but that was much easier said than done.

It wasn't as if he could run up to the king and tell him that the Sword Hero was innocent because he believed that he wouldn't commit a crime, even if it looks like he would at any time. He could feel Ren's invisible glare as he thought about that against his back, judging him for even issuing that comment.

This was especially the case when he knew absolutely nothing about the circumstances other than the fact that the Sword Hero was arrested. He tried asking Myne before departing for the capital, but other than the bare essentials, she knew nothing else.

He could try and ask around town, but if the Church of Three Heroes had really framed Ren for something, they could see him asking around about him as a red flag to them. He hadn't forgotten about the implications of their attack that Zellus announced to him and Aldrecht.

In the end, Motoyasu could only rely on meeting with Aldrecht once more to see what options he could possibly have. It wouldn't be out of the question if the old man realized the same thing as he did and was in the midst of figuring something out for his friend.

The streets of Castle Town hadn't been so lively as it was in the first few days. People settled down as the news of the heroes' arrival had done the same, allowing the civilians to return to their daily lives.

Regardless, he was able to walk around without being approached by anyone. He hadn't been hiding his face at all, but people weren't paying much attention to him. They probably thought he was another adventurer of the guild, but if it was that case, he was a little bit surprised that the general public knew what the Cardinal Heroes actually looked like.

Though, it was the world where things like television and the internet weren't existent, so it wasn't that hard to believe. He merely assumed that since the king said that rumors travelled quickly throughout the town, the descriptions of the heroes would have been acted in the same manner.

Adversely, it wouldn't have been too surprising if some of the knights knew him. A few of the ones that passed by actually looked at him, trying to remember if he was the Spear Hero or not, but even if they recognized him, Motoyasu didn't think that they would leave their duty just for an autograph.

However, a pat on his shoulder changed that thought.

There was at least one knight that would have.

"Hey, Spear Hero! Nice to see you again!"

"Oh, Zellus?" He turned around from the familiar voice. "I'm glad to see you too!"

The extravagant knight had smiled, brandishing his white teeth to the world. Conversely, the patting started to evolve into a full-body check, causing Motoyasu to become slightly uncomfortable, yet more confused to say anything about it.

"Hmm, no injuries. Better than I expected."

"W-Well, I mean…" Getting patted down by a knight wasn't how he expected to start off the conversation, causing him to stutter a bit. "There's no point in getting stronger if I lose against tougher monsters and enemies while growing. I'd rather play safe than sorry, especially when I'm in charge of my party members' lives here."

"I guess you have a point, but you shouldn't be too afraid to tackle bigger challenges."

After backing off, giving Motoyasu a bit of personal space, Zellus held himself in a rather casual posture. He started walking off down the streets, silently beckoning Motoyasu to follow him and given he had no other ideas for his current plans, it might have been better to play along.

After all, Zellus might be able to help him out as well.

Motoyasu merely needed to figure out a way to express his words that would enable him to help out Ren in some capacity.

"So, what brings you back to the capital?"

"I, uhm…" Motoyasu scratched his head, trying to enunciate his thoughts. "I heard about the situation with Ren recently. Myne told me it happened a few days ago, but I don't know a lot about it."

"And you came to check up on the Sword Hero?" Zellus rubbed his chin while bringing out his sharp glare at Motoyasu. "I thought we told you to cease contact with the other heroes until everything surrounding the Church was all cleared up. The idea that you came solely on the reason to check up on the Sword Hero might send some red flags towards them. You haven't told anyone about this, have you?"

"Other than Myne, no." He had almost a prideful assertion to his response. "I was mindful of keeping my reasons a secret and the other girls were fine with it."

"Good," Zellus nodded his head. "The less you talk about it, the better Aldrecht can control the information surrounding your return to the Church."

"So what should we do? I can't imagine Ren suddenly doing anything illegal enough to have himself arrested. You and Aldrecht are probably finding a way to help him out, right?"

"Not really."

Motoyasu stopped in his tracks after the nonchalant answer that escaped from Zellus' mouth. He waited for a second for him to reveal that he was merely pulling on Motoyasu's leg, but all Zellus did was stop after a few moments before glancing back. He even tilted his head, acting confused as to why they had stood still.

"W-What!?"

"As far as I know, we're not helping out the Sword Hero. There's nothing complicated about that."

"Why not!? Ren obviously wouldn't do such a—!"

Zellus grabbed Motoyasu's mouth before he could exclaim that proclamation into the skies for all to hear.

"Please don't just shout that out."

"S-Sorry, but you surprised me!" Motoyasu shook himself out as Zellus pulled himself back. "How are you not helping out Ren!?"

"We're not in the situation to do so. This might surprise you, but he really did attack the Church's library and was promptly arrested for it." Motoyasu's eyes widened as Zellus shrugged with a grin, somehow so chill about it. "Well, there's a lot of inbetween details that I skipped out on, but that's the general gist of it. So far, the Captain recently received access to the crime scene and it won't take too long for him to gather his own understanding."

"I… I don't understand."

Staggering backwards in disbelief, Motoyasu felt like he didn't even know Ren anymore. Despite the younger age, he always admired Ren for his calm and collectedness, even when he was expressing some type of displeasure towards him. He was the type of person where it would be assumed that he would be the one to think things through carefully and concisely.

"He… He wouldn't just…"

Had it been the different setting that tipped Ren off from acting normally? He knew Ren from his time living together, but perhaps Ren acted differently when he was playing a video game. He always saw that Ren's character in the brief _Emerald Online_ playthrough would always be frontlining, aggressively using resources and skills, but that itself didn't make sense.

He was smart enough to not treat this like a game, right?

"_R-Ren… why did you…?_"

He wanted to deny it.

It was ugly to accept such a thing about his friend.

He didn't want to think about it, but he needed to know.

Clenching his fist and regaining some of his belief, he looked back at the knight.

"Zellus, I need to ask you a favour."

"A favour?" he repeated, raising an eyebrow. "What could someone like me do to help out the Spear Hero?"

"Do you think you can get me a meeting with Ren?"

Zellus crossed his arms, moving his eyes up and down Motoyasu's stern posture. He was rather amused at the sudden advancement of the Spear Hero, almost at the point where he wanted to laugh out loud. He held back that feeling though, in respect to the earnest desire that Motoyasu had put forward, bare for him to see.

"What about the deal that you made with Aldrecht? We can't have you be seeing with the Sword Hero, after all. He would never allow for it and asking the Captain won't do you much either. Aldrecht's word is ranked highly in the Captain's eyes to the point and will trump yours."

"There has to be some way!" Motoyasu bowed his head in a single, quick motion. His ponytail draped his neck without any other regard to it. "Zellus, please! I'm begging you!"

Motoyasu didn't know what type of face Zellus had been making; even if his head pointed up, he kept his eyes closed in anticipation of the knight's response. He was hearing mutters from the surrounding crowd, talking about the interaction oddly playing out in the middle of the streets, but none of them belonged to Zellus.

His hands started to shiver, thinking about what type of silence Zellus had been giving out, but as seconds felt like minutes, he persisted in keeping his stance. He knew he suddenly came up with the idea, but it was something he truly wanted.

He wanted to hear Ren's side in its entirety.

He failed Naofumi once. He didn't want to fail Ren as well.

Suddenly, Zellus' hand held onto the back of his head lightly, almost patting it in a way.

He slowly glanced up to see Zellus having a bittersweet smile naturally forming on his face. He only knew the knight for a short time and had a handful of conservations with him, but something about that expression seemed very off to him.

"No matter what?"

Motoyasu rose back with a straightened back and silently nodded.

"Hmm." Zellus rubbed his chin with a pleasant smirk. "Yeah, sure. I'll gladly you help out, Spear Hero."

"Really!?" Motoyasu gasped in excitement. "Thanks, Zellus! I really owe you one!"

"However, I have one condition."

It would have been too good of a dream for the knight to do it for free. Motoyasu should have expected some strings to be attached, but his heart skipped a beat regardless. His ears were ready to listen, but his mouth didn't bother to affirm that he was prepared. Perhaps in some way, he wasn't and for what Zellus had in mind—

—he really wasn't.

"I want you to fight me, Spear Hero.

"If you can't beat me, you can forget about meeting with the Sword Hero."

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

The light breeze that came across the grassy plains might have been uplifting in the normal circumstances, but all Motoyasu could feel was the unnerving hiccups in his body, shaking at his fundamental core as he followed Zellus some distance away from the capital.

He knew this wasn't going to be a simple task if he compared how Zellus looked to the other knights. It wasn't simply due to the different outfit he had from the knights' general uniform, but his multitude of swords gave off a very ominous feeling that he hadn't been focusing on before due to the fact that he never thought he would engage him in combat.

Now that they were a few steps away from clashing weapons, Motoyasu was able to see him as an opponent and he really didn't like what he was seeing.

Added to the fact that this was the first time he fought another person in this world, he knew the request was going to be difficult to fulfill. However, he was keen on meeting Ren enough to be feeling the need to take down the knight.

"This should be the place."

They stopped inside a light forest where there had been a clearing between the trees. It was like a small arena where the trees had stood as the spectators to all who chose to fight in between their sights, but other than the monsters that seemed to not want to approach the area, this place was devoid of living creatures.

"Before we start," Zellus said, as he turned around, "you don't mind if I refer to you by name, right?"

"N-No, not at all!" The casual nature that the knight had stood in contrast to the restlessness in his heart. "If anything, I'd prefer that people call me by my name."

"That's good," he cheered. "I hate formalities in the first place."

Zellus drew one of his swords from his back, prompting Motoyasu to get into position with his spear. He slid his hand down the pole while bending his legs, all while keeping the tip pointed in Zellus' direction.

"Hmm…" Zellus glanced at the posture, scanning it in the matter of a few seconds. "Not bad, but it's not anything worth mentioning either. A bit too basic and simple."

He suddenly threw his sword off to the side, planting it next to one of the trees. Motoyasu flinched, surprised at the action, but the knight wasn't done yet.

He started repeating it with all his other swords, tossing them all to the side. Not one of them were treated differently from the other, ranging from his rapier to giant broadsword and his katana to short swords.

He kept setting each sword to the side until he was left with two daggers in his hands.

"This should be enough."

Zellus spun his daggers and held each one comfortably in his palms. Compared to Motoyasu's battle-ready composure, he looked too defenseless, but it was that exact thought that made him wary in the first place.

"Are you ready?"

In the split moment, his vision started to act weird. It didn't blur or disrupt his line of sight, but he noticed that his health bar had been glitching out. He couldn't even tell if the meter had been filled or not, as the graphical interface was indecipherable.

It wasn't much longer before something had popped up before his eyes.

**[Attention]  
[You have been marked with [Anti-Status Magic (Absolute)].]**

"Hey, uhm? Zellus?" His attention was pulled over to the mysterious message that transparently blocked his sight. "Something just showed up in my Status Magic. Says something about 'Anti-Status Magic'? Not sure what that's all about."

"Don't worry too much about it. It's just there to help keep things fair," Zellus answered, tapping on the temple of his skull. "I wouldn't want our stats getting in the way of success, right?"

Motoyasu recalled the dueling function back in _Emerald Online_, where entering the player versus player arena would balance out levels to an equal playing field to ensure that the one with better knowledge and mechanics of the game would come out as the winner.

He didn't realize that this world had the same thing, but this might have eased the odds a bit to his favour.

"Now then, Motoyasu. Come at me with everything you got!"

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

Every theory that could be conceived to him was incorrect, but what had been more important was the information he could gather from each false hypothesis. However, when there were conflicting pieces of information that led nowhere, there was no conclusion he could possibly derivate other than the fact that he was dealing with magic that was truly unknown to this world somehow.

As a summary, Aldrecht had no idea what to do and had not progressed any further to the truth as he was a week prior concerning the summoning ritual.

He felt the semblance of failure creeping up to his frailish body. The only thing that was helping him ease this headache had been his relaxing sips of tea, but he noticed that he had been running out of his brews more at a quicker rate these days, especially when the confusing results of the ritual had not been the only thing he had to take care of.

In addition, there's still the need to coordinate against the Church. The reasoning behind the pope's hasty summoning recommendation had not been uncovered yet, but that action was certainly key in his grand scheme.

The mere thought of this caused him to slump his hands onto his desk. Pacing himself around the room hadn't been jogging his mind as well as it did in the past.

Who was he kidding here?

He was no brilliant tactician like his old friend.

Applying theories and repeating experiments was how he taught himself and gained his reputation as a researcher of academia. If he could repeat different tactics and see the different results, he could feasibly put together a proper plan that would be able to defeat Pope Balmus and his hidden weapon of the _Replica_.

Aldrecht was never a good chess player.

He simply played against Aultcray enough to learn his tactics and develop strategies that would be able to defeat him. These patterns would be transitioned to others who challenged him to the game, but there were far few who would. Nowadays, Aultcray was his only rival for the tabletop game of war.

Adversely, he wouldn't be surprised if his friend had been playing off a fresh slate everytime. If he had no doubt that Aultcray would be able to turn against their perceived ally and friend, he would have no issue in sharing details to the king.

Besides, this was something he felt he himself needed to do.

"Aldrecht? Are you in there?"

His friend's voice had echoed past his door as a few knocks followed in tandem. He quickly turned around after revitalizing his mentality, even if it had been done in falsehood. He certainly didn't want to concern Aultcray with these issues.

"Yes, I am. Please come in."

The door opened up as the king slowly entered. He had been still wearing his regal outfit, but he took off his crown the moment the door clicked back to a close. He used this time to walk around his desk and sit down beckoning Aultcray to have a seat on one of the couches. The king silently refused by standing a few meters away from the desk as he took notice of some of the diagrams of the summoning ritual on the chalkboards.

"What brings you here to my personal quarters?" Aldrecht asked. "If you needed to have a conversation with me, you could always have one of the servants fetch me for you to come to your room."

"That wasn't necessary," Aultcray shook his head gently.

"Then is there something you need from me?"

Aultcray sighed, holding his eyes shut before he stared at Aldrecht upfront.

"Are you doing alright?"

"... What brought this up all of a sudden?"

"You can perhaps call it intuition, but I've known you for far too long to be able to pass it as mere guesswork. You've been anxious of something for some time, but I don't remember when it was when I started to notice." Aultcray walked up to the desk to get a better look at him. "Though, it's clear that you've been more on edge lately."

"It's… nothing much," Aldrecht responded, averting his gaze. "I've simply been frustrated with the outcomes of my research so far. I haven't been able to gather any type of fruit from the seeds sown. Getting a rotten one would have been a blessing at this point."

It hadn't been the whole truth, but he wasn't lying entirely. However, Aultcray finally walked over to one of the seats and took his place down, grunting a bit as the cushions nested his body. In a way, he knew Aultcray was deeply worried, but he didn't know how far those worries went.

"You usually aren't so taken aback by these setbacks."

"It must be my age coming to bite back at me," he jested, chuckling in its trail. "I'm not as young as I was in the past, old friend."

"In the past, huh?"

Aultcray had a longing expression on his face as he fell back onto the couch's backrest. That little comment from him had Aldrecht to think about what he just said, yet he was likely seeing it in a different vein than his friend.

Indeed, their past had been much simpler than what he had to worry about these days.

"The years have truly flown by quickly, ever since I married Mirella and become Melromarc's king. It certainly would have felt much longer if you weren't by my side."

"I didn't do much, Aultcray," he chuckled wryly. "I merely supported you from where I could stand. The rest of the country's future was carved out by you and Mirella."

He was never any good with expressing his ideas or sharing words to other people. It was not as if he was an introvert, but it might have been quite the opposite. When it came to certain topics, he wouldn't know when to stop, so upon becoming his friend's retainer, he decided it would be best to seclude himself and offer assistance whenever his friend needed it the most.

Personally, he didn't think he did much work. At most, he served as a second opinion to the king's wisdom, gathering whatever holes that the king had yet to traverse, but he could never bring aboard any ground-breaking ideas to the table.

"Don't be so humble! If you were never by my side, I would think I would end up differently!"

"Even if I died back then, I still have belief that you would have become the hero of the Siltvelt War and attracted the fabled attention of Melromarc's current princess back then. My survival did not have much influence in your run from Faubley."

Speaking about it so nonchalantly after all these years, Aldrecht could remember the surreal feeling of death and agony spreading within his birthplace, engrossed in flames and screaming. He could remember his mother tucking him away in hiding while she ran out to distract those cold-blooded enemies, being one of the last times he saw her alive. It was so frightened that he simply ran away, only to encounter another group of killers.

It was almost a fleeting nightmare, yet it was something that he wasn't so bothered with anymore. Even with a lifelong burn imprinted on his back, a reminder of the terrible incident could only make him smile bitterly at worse. If anything, it was his friend that took the incident much more personally.

"Do you not doubt the fact that I would have been crushed by your death?" Aultcray retorted.

"At that time, we only knew each other for a year. I trust you could have gotten over it."

"_At that time_, you were the only one who had been close with my sister and I." A single scoff was his response. "Losing you in that attack would have been devastating to us."

"Is that so? It's been decades and this is the first I've heard about it."

"Well, we never got a good chance to reminisce about the past together like this in a long time. It's been business after business the moment I took the throne by Mirella's side."

"Didn't I say it beforehand? That being a king would be no simple task? It's far from what you were planning after our departure from Faubley and it wasn't a decision to take lightly back then."

Aultcray glanced down at his crown, nested softly on his hand. The weight of it had certainly become lighter over the coming years.

"I don't regret taking up the throne for one instance, even if I hated what it meant. It may have been difficult, but I've come to love my life here. With a loving wife, two adorable daughters and a good friend I could always trust, everything else could be hell and I'd accept it nevertheless."

"Heh. You truly have gotten soft, Aultcray," Aldrecht laughed.

Back in the day of war, this same man would have been sent his enemies into peril with unyielding control of the battlefield coupled with his ruthless plans catered to their ideal execution. That was the true face of the _Wise Sage King_, while the person who sat before him was nothing of the sort anymore. It was not a harsh criticism, but it was a thought that was shared between the both of them.

Even Aultcray had admitted that his title was much greater than his actual self, but if it continued to inspire the knights and the citizens, he would allow the title to persist. That wasn't even mentioning the blown-out proportion that Aldrecht's title had gotten. The _Lord of Calamity_ was a bit much, even for his younger self.

"If only my sister could be here, it would have been perfect. Us three were quite the group, wouldn't you say?" Aultcray's grip tightened around his held crown, giving a bittersweet expression. He certainly hasn't gotten over the loss of his sister during the war. "She would have been happy to see where we were today."

"I'm sure she's still watching over us," Aldrecht comforted. "Though, I would imagine Lucia would have been quite the favourable woman if she had still been with us. I remember vaguely that during the war, many proposals would be given to her based on her beauty alone, only for you to step in their way."

Aultcray scoffed, just thinking about it. "I wasn't going to allow some random person to take my sister's hand in marriage, especially if she didn't know who they were before their offer."

"That sounds quite like you, of course. A brother being overprotective of the younger sister."

Aldrecht could always remember how much Aultcray loved his sister, but he couldn't blame him. Lucia had been the only family he had left. His parents were within the village on political business as the intruders invaded the territory, killing everyone that they could see. He was entrusted with protection of his sister and running away as their parents held back the enemies.

After coming to realize that the Faubley council would not pursue this matter, even if Aultcray's parents were of importance to the throne, they left everything behind to join Melromarc's borders.

"You know, I would have been fine if you were romantically interested in Lucia. You were one of the few people I could trust with her in your care, after all. I could have helped sort things out and pull strings together to make it happen!"

"So I'm reminded."

It was quite amusing to hear Aultcray's mindless speculations about those that would have never been. Even if Aultcray did hook them up, it would have never lasted long due to their platonic relationship with one another. Lucia was the same as Aultcray to him, a person that he dedicated his life to serving for saving his life. He wouldn't have been here if it weren't for the twist of fate that occurred, having their escape path line up closely with where he was being attacked.

However, as they trudged on through the memories, Aldrecht realized something.

"... Why have you come to my personal quarters, simply to talk of the past?"

Aultcray merely smiled.

"Because those were our golden days, my friend. You constantly stick your into research for so long, I'm afraid that you've forgotten how it was like to truly live your life." He started standing up from his seat and placed the crown back on his head. "I may not be as wise as I was before, but I can offer some wisdom to a frustrated friend. I'm not asking you to open up yourself to others, but perhaps it's best if you slowed down a bit."

"Aultcray…"

"Remember, Lucia treasured you dearly and so do I."

There was a sense of amusement lingering in his words.

"I would advise you to never forget that."

"Not that I ever did." A sudden recollection hit him as the door creaked. "Say, I heard that the Spear Hero has returned to the capital. Why don't you check up on your precious daughter?"

"If it were up to me, I'd be running over in the streets just to see her again."

With the door closing behind the king, it was fairly obvious that he hadn't caught on to whatever plans the pope had been holding up his sleeves and what inclusion that Aldrecht had within that countermeasure. Aultcray seemed to only have chalked up his pent-up emotions to the failing research of the summoning ritual and with tensions being high due to the incidents of the Shield Hero and the Sword Hero, it may have felt right for the king to sit down and speak as a friend to his retainer.

Aldrecht had to think about it though.

Had it been wrong of him to attempt and tackle this problem by himself from the very start?

Should he have taken at least some amount of risk in order to solve it?

His internal mumbling was cut short by a knock by a window. He had it previously opened for fresh air, but it now served as a secondary entrance for the shadow, crouching along the edge.

"Has Zellus properly received the order from me?"

"He has. However, he wishes for this article to be delivered into your hands."

Aldrecht looked over to see the shadow placing some textbook onto his table. It looked like it was uncovered recently in a dungeon while all the pages were worn out from the side. The cover did not share anything important, being nondescript as a generic slate.

"Did he say what this was?"

"He did not."

Aldrecht had a good guess what this was about.

"Very well. You're dismissed."

The shadow, just as quick as they entered, left without another spare second wasted.

He slid the book across, holding his fingers along the seemingly ancient text. If he had to guess, this may have been something akin to a recovered documentation from the past and if Zellus found it excellent enough to be sent up to him, it was entirely possible that this was linked with the Church or even better yet, it was being hidden away by the Church to ensure that it was not seen by the public.

When he opened the first page, he had no idea what the contents might have been.

And to be honest, he wasn't sure what to make of it.

He had never considered this scenario because it never came to his mind as potential candidates, but if the issue hadn't been the catalyst or the execution of the ritual, it must have been the actual summoning. He did recall that the Spear Hero had admitted to knowing the other Cardinal Heroes prior to their arrival here, contrary to the prophecy.

He silently turned the page.

'_What was this about false heroes?_'

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

For what felt like the millionth time, Motoyasu crashed onto the forest's floor. At this point, he should have been grateful that they were fighting over a grassy field and not over rough terrain or else his back would have been bleeding badly and his spine would have been dislocated. If not from the impact, then from the repetitive slams on the surfaces.

With his head laying flat against the ground and the skies still covered in its afternoon blue, he must have been throwing himself at Zellus for at least an hour or two, but he didn't get anywhere closer to hitting him with an attack, much less beating him in a duel.

The scraping of the air against his lungs had been flooding his eardrums with their uneasy noises, resonating in tandem with a heavy-beating heart and a dried-out throat. His skull had been pulsating with the sour and unnaturalistic rhythm, but his hand was still gripping onto his spear firmly.

He wasn't letting go and it wasn't because of the inability to.

Using his spear as a support, he stabbed it back into the ground to lift himself onto his knees. Heavy breaths were needed before he could properly stand back up, but he couldn't settle himself straight. He staggered back and forth, trying to center his gravity around his planted spear before he managed to somehow firmly lock his feet down.

Through the bangs of his hair and the sweat that dripped down them, he glared at the knight, as normal as he was before he took his first strike. He then pulled his spear up and lifelessly pointed it at his opponent who had merely given him an exasperated sigh.

"You're still not done yet?"

"I'm not… surrendering…"

"Honestly, with that form and poor technique you've been showing me, I might as well surrender before I die of boredom," Zellus spat in a sour mood. "What Cardinal Hero are you exactly? You're the Spear Hero, aren't you? You're certainly not the 'Stick Hero', but you're fighting like you have one instead!"

Motoyasu just simply couldn't believe how easy Zellus was at dodging his strikes. It was as if he was dancing around all of his swings, thrusts, and skills. Even the ones where he thought they couldn't be dodged, Zellus managed to surprise him with so simple the flaws were in those attacks.

"Give up already, Motoyasu. You won't be able to beat me like that."

"If I give up now… I won't be able to meet Ren…"

He tightened his grip even more on his spear and started running at Zellus.

Beforehand, he was afraid that if he went too hard, he would have accidentally injured the knight, but that certainly wasn't the case anymore. Motoyasu wanted to inflict a wound, no matter how big it was, onto Zellus. He needed to take his step forwards to helping Ren and if he had to tackle an impossible task to get there, he would gladly bash his head against its barrier repeatedly, past the point of a concussion.

Frankly, he was trying to figure out if there was any easier way to do that without beating Zellus, but no matter how much he thought, everything had a certain risk to it. He was even asking Zellus about the alternatives that were possible and each one was subsequently shot down by some form of manner.

"Take this!"

"Thanks, but I'll pass."

Zellus threw one of his daggers into the air and narrowly sidestepped the thrusting spear. Motoyasu stopped on his heels, but Zellus grabbed the polearm and pulled it inwards to him. The motion caused Motoyasu to follow quite forcibly, coming closer to the knight as he released his grip and clenched another fist.

The smacking punch sent Motoyasu onto the ground again.

After letting the pain sink back into his dull sense, Motoyasu slowly got back up again in the same fashion as before.

"If I can't beat you in strength or technique, then I'll just beat you… in persistence!"

Once again, Motoyasu ran forwards.

Once again, Motoyasu found himself on the ground.

Once again, Motoyasu stood back up, swaying unconsciously.

Roaring out, he charged once again into the knight, but there was a difference this time. Instead of sending him backwards, Zellus avoided his attack and grabbed Motoyasu's hair, lifting it up. He could feel the strands wanting to be ripped off his scalp as he tried to stand on his toes in the desperate attempt to keep them on.

Though, it was tough not to be distracted by Zellus' constant staring into his eyes.

It was as if he was attempting to spiral fear and intimidation down his pupils, undilatable by the lids. The chills crept onto his neck as the only thing he could hear was his own struggling; Zellus had been deadly silent like a lion stalking its prey, only if the prey had been frozen in place.

Motoyasu had to double-take his own sights.

He never recalled Zellus' eye colour being red before, but he never took much notice of it until now and it was seriously frightening when he was serious.

Even so, Motoyasu gathered his strength into his free hand and swerved his fist up to Zellus' chin in a sudden flank. He was surprised that Zellus didn't act against it, but it was a bit scary to see that Zellus had literally just tanked the attack without looking like he got struck from below.

It was enough to release Motoyasu for the trap, causing himself to back off from the knight a few steps.

"_So this is the attribute of loyalty, huh?_"

Zellus' mumbling couldn't be heard by Motoyasu; it was much too quiet for him to hear the words, but it was enough for him to know that something was said. Zellus kept his eyes closed as he straightened himself up. The dagger he threw upwards finally fell down as he caught it in his right hand.

"The feeling that you have resting in your heart, it's crying out loud. I heard your screams loud and clear through every attack you've sent at me. The desperation and despair kindled with a spirit of conflicting and unyielding hope…"

Zellus had suddenly sheathed his daggers, causing Motoyasu to flinch.

"I can see reason with your statement. Your persistence is something to behold, setting aside your horribly lacking skills and movements. Though, those can be gradually improved upon, as long as you're willing to learn."

Zellus started walking towards him, but instead of any quick movements or attacks, the knight had simply patted him on the shoulder.

"Meet me back here tomorrow and the days after that. If you're going to be staying in the capital for a while, you might as well improve that sloppy technique of yours. For now, get back to your room at the inn and I'll come pick you up at night time."

"H-Huh…?"

Motoyasu could only give Zellus a blank stare.

"What? Do you really want me to spell things out for you?" Zellus groaned, rubbing the back of his neck. "Give me a break. I hate surrendering like this and if it weren't for the fact you reminded me a bit of the Captain, I would have gladly stepped you into the dirt deeper than some of the graves I've seen"

"Then… you're going to help me?"

"I won't say it again. I already told you what I was going to do back in the capital." Zellus looked over his shoulder with a very smug smile added on. "Just get yourself tidied up for the night. Don't get yourself into a crazy situation before I come. You're already as roughed up as it is."

As Zellus walked away, Motoyasu could feel the energy from his legs drop suddenly. The adrenaline that was running for this entire time finally gave out and he found himself lying down against the ground without the strength to lift himself back up. If there were monsters around these parts, he would have been completely screwed, but something told him that Zellus was going to help take care of that little issue.

"Heh… I really… owe you one, Zellus…"

Closing his eyes, he just wanted to get some rest now, seeing the bright blue skies before it faded away.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|—(  
SKIT 042 : Craftsmanship**

[Motoyasu] : "You really do have a ton of weapons, Zellus. I swear you have a different set compared to the ones that you carried with you when we were first summoned!"

[Zellus] : "Well, there's nothing much to it. I make a ton of weapons, so it makes sense that I use them all at some point, right? Erhm, I guess that idea doesn't really apply to people like blacksmiths…"

[Zellus] : "Anyways, any reason you wanted to point that out? You're interested in my swords? I'll let you take a look at my prized possessions as the Spear Hero! Just don't expect me to create spears for you though because those aren't really my speciality."

[Motoyasu] : "They look fantastic, Zellus. I couldn't even think about how long it would take to be able to get great swords like these ones. You must have taken several years until they started getting into the style you wanted..."

[Zellus] : "Oh? So you know about the hard work that goes into these things. I can't even start to count how many bad blades I've made. Not only do I have to nail the sword's form and the whole process, but I have to find the right metals I need for the weapon too. That alone is a challenge of its own!"

[Zellus] : "You seem to be rather involved in craftsmanship, or at least curious. I would take a good guess to say that you weren't making blades back in your world, but I do get the sense that you were involved in some type of field."

[Motoyasu] : "Yeah, I do sewing as a hobby!"

[Zellus] : "Sewing, huh? Your hands must be rather good and your eye for attention likewise. You got specialty or something?"

[Motoyasu] : "I can generally sew back up holes and rips, alongside making new clothing."

[Motoyasu] : "Though, my preference is _dresses_! Those are my favourite to make!"

[Zellus] : "... _I feel like there's a lot to unfold there and it's probably a good idea to ignore it._"

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|—(  
SKIT 043 : Unyielding**

[Zellus] : "He's nowhere as good as the Captain, but I guess that's supposed to be granted. The Captain was fighting tooth and nail back against me back then and no matter how many times I sent him to the ground, he kept standing back up. I guess I have a hard time beating someone to a pulp if they showed that type of resistance."

[Zellus] : "I've really grown soft compared to the person I was before. If I never met the Captain, Motoyasu might have died there, not to mention those other two. Something about that unyielding spirit that impresses me so much nowadays, even against the hardiest of difficulty."

[Zellus] : "That's why Motoyasu needs to grow stronger. For all that unyielding conviction he had, it doesn't mean anything in the end on a real battlefield if you don't have power."

[Zellus] : "That's the cruel reality."

[Zellus] : "Though, he was a bit fun to play with! I can't wait to see his face when I introduce him to my namesake 'demon training sessions'! Hmm, was that what the rookies called it? Eh, whatever! Motoyasu is surely going to go through hell and back! Good thing he has that persistence!"

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**


	25. Chapter 1-24 : Sin of Loyalty

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

By the time Motoyasu opened his eyes again, the sun was already setting. His body felt rejuvenated, but at the same time, he knew he couldn't make any hasty movements. His arms and legs still felt rather sore, enough for him to know that he wouldn't be able to run quickly for a straight minute or two, but short bursts every now and then might have been doable.

He stood back up and after checking for any nearby monsters that could have pounced him, he started making his way over to the capital. The knights on duty didn't pay much attention to him as he made his way down the streets, trying to remember where the inn was. There hadn't been any GPS function on his spear, but he entertained himself at the fact that he might find one some day in the future. Perhaps if he absorbed anything that was related, like a map, he would get something akin to it.

Thankfully, it didn't take much time to find his way back to the inn.

He didn't see any of the girls in the lobby, so they were likely in their rooms. He didn't want to disturb any of them, but he wanted to check if they had eaten yet. Going off to a restaurant to finish off the day would have been nice.

He came to knock on Myne's door to receive no response.

Surprised that they weren't back yet, he tried knocking on Elena's door, expecting the same result.

"Who's there?"

However, Elena had called from within, causing Motoyasu to flinch.

"Oh, it's just me," he replied. It took a few moments for the door to open up and for Motoyasu to see Elena pop her head out. "Hopefully, that spa day of yours was great!"

"It was certainly… interesting…" Elena averted her gaze for a split second. It hadn't been anything that caused Motoyasu to notice anything strange though. "Did you knock on my door just to find out how my day was?"

"I was actually wondering if you and the other girls have eaten yet." Motoyasu quickly pointed over to Myne's room with his eyes. "Hopefully, you ate together since I can't ask Myne or Lesty. They weren't in their rooms."

"Yeah, we already went to eat after the spa treatment, but thanks for asking. As for Myne and Lesty, I don't have a clue," she sighed, as if it was an annoyance to be asked that. "I don't keep constant tabs on them, but they probably went out for some errands or something along those lines."

"Oh, I see. If that's the case, then sorry about bothering you," Motoyasu said, scratching the back of his neck. "Is Rino there with them?"

There was a sudden pause from Elena, but Motoyasu only asked because he hadn't seen or heard Rino coming from inside of the room. She closed her eyes, as if deliberating on the words she should say before exhaling, acting as if she wanted to get it over with already.

"Rino's not with us anymore."

"... What?" Motoyasu raised his eyebrows while tilting his head. "Did she get another room or something?"

"It's nothing much to misunderstand here. Rino left the party."

She started closing the door after dropping a bombshell onto Motoyasu, but he managed to stick his toe in between to stop it. He didn't mean to do it on purpose; his body just reacted.

"W-Wait! I feel like I need a proper explanation here!" Motoyasu shouted. His mind started racing with panic. "Why would Rino leave the party!? Was she unhappy with something!? Why didn't she talk to me about it then!? I made sure that everyone in the party was happy though! Then why did she leave!?"

Through the narrow opening, Elena gave some respect by not trying to force the door to squish Motoyasu's toes. However, her expression seemed distant and her voice disinterested.

"You're asking the wrong person here. I was informed by Myne and Lesty about this news before we headed out to the spa. If you want to know the reason, you should ask them instead of me and besides…"

Hearing Elena's calm response had somehow eased Motoyasu in his common sense, realizing he rudely used his foot as a doorstop. He pulled it out, but Elena kept it opened briefly to finish her thought.

"I don't think it was for any of the reasons you just mentioned. Rino seemed happy to be by your side, Sir Motoyasu. Don't always think that it's your fault."

With that acknowledgement, she closed the door to a click, leaving Motoyasu without another person to talk to. He held out his hand, as if he wanted Elena to stay with him, but he managed to catch himself before his arms could extend. From his judgement of Elena's mood, it seemed like she didn't want to be bothered right now and he had to give that alone time to herself.

Very rarely has he ever eaten by himself.

From the point when he was summoned, he was always with someone else during his meals. Even back at home, he would eat alongside one of his friends at the very least. There wasn't some invisible force stopping him from doing so by himself, but he found that it was awkward.

His stomach was rumbling though, so he had to bite the bullet and take himself to a random restaurant or tavern. He was almost considering simply stopping at one of the food stalls that he'd seen around town that acted similarly to fast food places. It was a cheaper option to buy there as well.

However, there were footsteps coming down from the hall that pulled his attention away.

He was glad to see that it was Lesty. She briefly looked away, as if she wanted to pretend that Motoyasu wasn't there, but knowing that their eyes already made contact, she put on a casual smile and approached him with her usual attitude.

"Oh, Sir Motoyasu! You're back so soon?"

"It's uhm… almost evening," Motoyasu wryly chuckled. "Not to say anything egotistical, but I would have been a bit worried for the Spear Hero if he hadn't returned in the afternoon."

"Huh? Well, yeah. Normally, I would," Lesty answered, laying a finger on her cheek. "But one of the knights came by and told us that you were helping him out with something. It's that one with a lot of swords on him, but the name slips my tongue."

Zellus must have come by to inform them of an excuse as to why Motoyasu wasn't waking up from his sudden slumber. As he thought about thanking him later, he started to actually wonder how Zellus even knew where they were staying. Granted, it was pretty much a dice roll, but he didn't seem like the type of person to just blindly check all of the possible inns.

Wait, was he the type to do that? To be fair, he couldn't get a grasp on the guy other than the fact that he was a good person to be around for the mood. Though, that would have been the case if Motoyasu never fought him before. Now, he was back to not being able to hold a mental idea of the man.

"Helping out, huh? I guess he could call it that," Motoyasu mulled over. "I still haven't finished with that help yet, so I'll be heading out during the night."

"Are you sure you should be doing that?"

"It'll be fine, I promise."

Besides, Motoyasu wanted to turn the conversation into his current priority.

"Anyways, I just finished talking with Elena." His subtle grin cracked and showed a rather somber frown underneath. "Apparently, Rino won't be in our party anymore? She said that you and Myne would know more about those details."

"Oh. That." Lesty hummed a bit, delaying a proper response. When she started to speak, it was as if she had been selecting each word carefully and concisely. "W-Well, Rino received a letter delivered by the guild that… her mother had fallen ill. She was worried enough that she had to leave immediately, but she sends you her regards and hopes that she'll be able to meet up with us again once the situation has gotten better."

"I-Is that so…?" Motoyasu sighed, but there was some type of relief. "Thank goodness…" His body relaxed, dropping the tenseness from his knees and layering him down to an instinctive crouch. "If she had told me, I would have escorted her over to her hometown, but it can't be helped if she had to pass a message."

"Don't concern yourself about it too much, Sir Motoyasu." Lesty walked over and comforted him with a shoulder pat. "She was rather… resilient about leaving, but she ultimately decided that this was for the best."

"Yeah, it was."

Motoyasu couldn't stop his heavy heart from feeling this quiet sorrow, despite the answer being served to him on a silver platter. He knew it was fine to accept things at face-value, but ever since that incident, he always wanted to be sure.

"And what about Myne?" he turned to her. "I don't see her with you."

"Oh, she's back at the castle. The father called her back and I went with her to make sure everything was alright, but after I wasn't needed anymore, I just came back here for the night." As Motoyasu found energy in his legs to stand back up, Lesty walked over to her room. "I'm still a bit surprised that Myne was the princess of Melromarc."

"Were you? When I told everyone, you seemed to be the least surprised out of all of them."

"Well, just because I didn't show it, it doesn't mean that I didn't feel it," she answered with a playful tone. "Girls might be a bit difficult for you to understand."

Lesty glanced over, hearing nothing except silence coming from the Spear Hero. It looked as if he became a bit distant from her response.

"Sir Motoyasu?"

"Y-Yeah, sorry!" Motoyasu, as if it was a flick of a switch, suddenly turned back on and acted aloofly. "I dozed off a bit there! Forgive me for that one!"

"Weird place to doze off." Unlocking the door, she took a step in, nodding over to Motoyasu with a playful smile. "You should probably not do that in public. You never know who might be bad or good around these parts, even if it's the capital."

"Of course. I'll take that advice to heart."

After saying their good nights to each other, Motoyasu decided to head out.

With light still hovering in the horizon with the cool air setting in, he walked down the streets, weighing his options. It wasn't as if he had no money left, but without a native person, he didn't know which meals were worth trying. He would have considered hitting up a bar, but tonight's meeting dissuaded him from touching even an ounce of alcohol.

He would have liked to cook for the group for once, but the occasion hadn't come up yet. He learnt his excellent skills under Naofumi's tutelage (overshadowed by the master's own innate ability), but he mainly cooked for himself, seeing that Ren and Itsuki were deeply enjoying Naofumi's style more. And given these circumstances, he would have to relearn how to use his tools since he was more comfortable with their own kitchen on top of the twenty-four hour job of a hero.

After wandering a bit, he decided to cut through some back alleys, much to Elena's offhand comment back at their arrival. The food stalls were just on the other side of the area according to what a local resident said. There was the small issue that he was pretty much walking into a red light distinct equivalent, but he didn't have much of a problem with that.

Frankly, he wasn't that surprised that this world contained prostitution.

Motoyasu could practically smell the pleasure looming in the air, but amazingly, there hadn't been many sex workers outside the buildings. He knew they would try and allure him in with their sweet voices, but that was part of their jobs. Not making eye contact or staring at them alongside a quick pace would help them to know that regardless of what they did, he wasn't interested and they could set their targets on the unsuspecting.

"_A-Ah… N-No, I…_"

There were moans of both genders coming from the buildings, but Motoyasu managed to pick up on a specific girl's voice. He felt like he imagined it after being so concerned about it recently, but it was a ridiculous notion to follow through.

According to Lesty, Rino already went back home.

Thus, there's absolutely _zero _chance that she suddenly gave up accompanying him and started to work as a sex worker here. Even if her voice had been similar, that's all it should have been.

For that moment, his heart did skip a beat. He didn't see Rino as the type of girl to do such a thing in the first place, but his eyes rose up from the lowered angle towards the building that the voice came from. Hearing just that tone made him sigh. He'd only wish to see her once more before she left in order to say his proper goodbyes.

It was merely for a short time, but she was still important to him.

"_P-Please… S-Stop it…_"

Taking a deep breath, Motoyasu continued onwards to the next street over.

He knew that some people had their fetishes and he wasn't going to judge them. The girls were paid sometimes to act out with different attitudes and if the clients were going too far, it would have taken one simple scream for the business bodyguards to stop it at once.

Though, he hadn't seen one of them out in the alleyway and only assumed they existed.

Eventually reaching a food stall, he found something that certainly looked like a burger, but it definitely didn't taste like one. The meat was strange. Biting into it caused him to immediately search for a new option.

"_Blegh._ I guess that's bad luck for me, huh?"

He couldn't help it, but to take another bite strangely enough.

* * *

**)**—**(\**IV**| Chapter 1-24 |**IV**/)|**—**(  
)\\( Sin of Loyalty )/(**

* * *

There weren't any clocks in his room, but he could imagine the constant ticking of a grandfather clock, moving its hands slowly as it went into midnight. He didn't realize that their meeting would have been deep into the night, but he was still awake thanks to a drink he found during his meal searching.

It was surprisingly odd, but it was almost refreshing, acting a bit like coffee. The taste wasn't too bad compared to his initial sip, settling down to simply waking him up if he ever dared to doze off. It was called a Scholar's Brew or something along those lines. He started to wonder if any of his friends had drank it up, thinking it was coffee.

He could imagine Naofumi or Itsuki spitting it out, but he was more certain that Ren would be wary of the mysterious drink. Though, the image of Ren immediately sipping it without a second thought, only to realize his mistake was a funny thought.

Waiting about, he had been sitting at the table, but he stood up from his seat and walked over to the small balcony's doors. He was planning to get a few stretches in front of an open-aired door before Zellus could arrive, but as he allowed the night's wind to rush through, a figure had leapt over the railing and gave him a fright.

"Grah!?"

Screaming out, Motoyasu fell backwards, landing on his butt, as he instinctively scooted away. His grip on his spear tightened, just in case, but it took the same amount of time to realize that it hadn't been an enemy.

"Z-Zellus!? You scared me!"

The knight looked over, grinning with his white teeth showing off as if he had done it on purpose. "Well, I'm here to pick you up, you know! Sorry about being late and all. I had to get some errands out of the way." He held up a filled paper bag that was in his hand. "I'm playing delivery boy for someone, so I hope you didn't mind the delay."

"O-Oh, shouldn't you finish that up first?"

"Nah, it's fine," he shrugged before extending his empty hand to the Spear Hero. "Now, get your ass off the ground. Ren isn't going to be going anywhere anytime soon, but that doesn't mean you get to waste time."

Motoyasu wanted to retort that, but he held himself back against it, grabbing onto the assistance Zellus had given out. He quickly thanked the knight for helping him up, hoping that his scream wasn't loud enough to wake up Lesty or Elena in the adjacent rooms.

Luckily for him, no one went to check on him, so he guessed that he was in the clear.

"Alright, let's head out."

Zellus immediately turned to the balcony.

"Wait, we're going through there?"

"Uh, yes? Is there a problem?"

"This is the fourth floor! I'm not jumping down from—wait, how did you even get up here!?"

Zellus had a stupified blinking expression.

"... I jumped? It's a pretty neat skill to have when you have to scale heights quickly."

Frankly, Motoyasu didn't have an idea of what he had expected, but he managed to somehow convince Zellus that he himself was not down to fall out of the window. He scaled down from the actual stairs and met the knight in front of the inn.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

Zellus guided Motoyasu down a dark alleyway, one that was made more creepier due to the dusk of the night. The only light that existed for them was the reflection of the lunar moon above, but even that merely allowed Motoyasu to see Zellus' figure in the darkness. However, he couldn't even remember the way they came from after every turn looked the same as the last.

When the knight started to talk about what they were going to do, Motoyasu recalled that Zellus had briefly mentioned something about it before during their first day being summoned. To think back to that point felt so long ago, despite it not even being a full month yet, not to mention that they haven't fought in a wave.

He was informed about the secret passageways that were made for the royal family to escape if ever the castle was being under attacked. However, secret passageways needed to have an exit and where there was an exit, there had been an entrance likewise. They were tucked into the more obscure places and they couldn't even be accessed if one doesn't know where to look, but being a high knight, Zellus already knew the ins-and-outs of the castle layout.

At this point, he was more worried about tripping over random bumps or cracks on the ground, but that didn't really stop him from wondering about other things.

He didn't even know what he wanted to say to Ren the moment that they met, so he felt like this time was better used to figure out his feelings and try to see how he can uncover the truth from his friend's side. There didn't seem to be any other help to take steps into helping Ren out.

"Hey, Motoyasu? I have a quick question for you."

Zellus broke Motoyasu out of his looming thoughts, but the knight didn't bother to stop when talking.

"Y-Yeah?"

"Say that you have a spear that is unstoppable. Everywhere you point it, you would manage to break through regardless of difficulty. It sounds like a great weapon to have, wouldn't it?"

Motoyasu did think that a weapon like that would be too good to be true to unlock for himself. It would have been an instant win for every single fight that he would be involved in and he wouldn't have needed to think much about it, but he kept silent, thinking that there was much more to it other than a dreamt cheating form.

"Now say that the Shield Hero stands in your way."

"Huh!? Why would Naofumi fight against me!? Only in a million years or in some parallel universe!" After his instinctive response, Naofumi's trial flooded back into his memory. "O-Oh, maybe… Maybe he would have some bones to pick with me, but hopefully not…"

The knight shook his head. "It's a hypothetical. Think of this Shield Hero as another man that you don't know, but that's only the finer details here. The important thing is that this Shield Hero is a man that embodies the attribute of a hero, right down to his core attribute, and that's reflected in this hypothetical unbreakable shield."

Zellus then stopped, causing Motoyasu to stay still in his place and yet, he still refused to even glance back at the hero.

"Say that you want to defeat this Shield Hero. Do you think it's possible?"

The question had seemed like one of the oldest physics questions to date, centering around what happens when an unstoppable force meets an unmovable object. It wasn't hard to imagine that the object would still not move, due to the infinite and then some energy that was needed to push that object along, but he wasn't much of a physicist. He rambled whatever he remembered from his high school classes.

However, the context of the object and the force was important.

"Well, wouldn't the Shield Hero win that fight?" he answered, following his train of logic. "A shield's meant for protecting and a spear for attacking, so in that case, wouldn't the shield be the only one to be successfully doing its job correctly? I can hardly think of a possible victory for me if I'm the one ending up in a stalemate."

"_Sigh_. _You really do have much to learn._"

Motoyasu could have sworn he heard his voice as Zellus continued to move on.

"D-Did you say something, Zellus?"

"Nothing. Must have been the wind."

Zellus was deadly silent for the rest of the way. Motoyasu wondered if he answered the question wrong; hell, he didn't even realize that there was a correct answer in the first place. It felt one of those 'open-ended' essay questions that was actually supposed to armlock the writer into a certain perspective.

It didn't take much longer, rather it didn't feel long, for them to come to what he thought was a dead end.

"Did we take the wrong turn somewhere?"

"That's what the royal family wants you to think." Zellus started to walk up towards the wall and felt the surface, knocking a few times to hear some type of hollow sound. "As you might expect, it's heavily guarded by barrier magic. I can't be damned to know the intrinsic details, but this is certainly the place."

He threw a single glance over his shoulder. "Stand back a bit."

Motoyasu took a few steps away as did Zellus, but he had been pulling out his broadsword with a golden sheen to it while placing down the paper bag. He slid his finger along its blade as if he was checking its condition before he aimed it at the wall.

With one quick slash, his sword collided with the brick and suddenly, a faint glowing light had shattered like it was glass to reveal that there was actually a door behind the fake wall.

Motoyasu's mouth was hanging.

"What just happened?"

"It's a type of illusion barrier, combined with a bit of slight persuasion. Regardless of what type of tricks it uses, it's just another type of wall at the end of the day. A fancy one." He sheathed the golden-sheened sword back to his hip, recovered the bag and walked to the door, pulling out some keys on a ring that were oddly still needed for the building. "It just needs a small love tap for it to disappear, but don't worry. These types of things come back after a short time, so no need to replace it or anything."

The door had led to a downwards staircase that looked deep at a glance, but it hadn't been too bad. They arrived at what seemed like a bunker of some type, prepared with all types of equipment that knights would have on hand in order to protect their escorting members.

On the other side of the room, there was yet again another door that Zellus went to unlock that led them even further down a long hallway. The surfaces were a bit dusty, as if it wasn't used in a long time, but the tiles suggested that it was made with extreme diligence and care.

After a while, they came to another dead end which had Zellus pat his hand against the adjacent wall. Like in a spy movie, one of the tiles had sunk into the wall and the dead end started to slide itself out of the way. He thought it would have dropped them off to one of the upper hallways, but he supposed that they never climbed up any stairs for that vertical direction.

Instead, he was met with a storage room that had been filled with armour and weapons. It was rather dark and compared to the tunnel, it had more of a basement vibe to it.

They emerged out from a wall that a bookcase was attached to and once Motoyasu fully entered the area, the wall closed back in on itself, bringing the shelf with it to its normal position.

Taking out one more key, he unlocked it and it brought them out an equally dreary hallway, only that it was illuminated by some torches on the wall. Motoyasu dipped his head out to check if there were any patrolling knights, but Zellus had been much more casual about it, strolling into the hall like he owned the place.

"M-Maybe we should be a little bit more careful? I don't want to be caught in a place where I'm not supposed to be." Zellus kept walking, forcing Motoyasu to trail behind him. The knight really didn't care about what concerns the hero had. "H-Hey, wait up!"

"This isn't some secret operation, Motoyasu," Zellus shrugged. "I'm literally just bringing you to Ren here."

"If you think it's alright, then…" Motoyasu scratched the back of his neck, a bit nervous at the bold approach they were taking. "I'm guessing that you already know all the patrol paths that the knights down here take."

"Nah. I couldn't care any less about patrol pathing, much less patrols in general." There was even a whimsical shrug added on for its flair. "I was just thinking about heading right to the guy. Nothing tricky about it. Besides, due to what happened in the capital, we kept the Sword Hero in one of the deeper prison cells, usually guarded by knights every hour."

"Is that so?"

Motoyasu was happy that Zellus felt so confident in this approach and was willing to trust everything to him, simply based on that casual tone. However, he ended up frowning, hearing that Ren was being treated like a infamous criminal.

Soon, they came to another part of the prison after passing by multiple cells that had people in them, though he wasn't paying much attention. The entrance to the new section had been guarded by two men, just as Zellus told Motoyasu, but instead of a stern or surprised reaction, the knights were quite amicable towards them.

"Oh, Zellus. What's up?"

"Nothing much. I just need to get through here."

"You need to meet up with one of the inmates here?"

"You know it."

"Got permission for it?"

"Nah, it's on a whim."

There was a brief silence. Motoyasu surely thought that the guard would have dismissed him away, but much to his surprise...

"Alright. Just don't make too much of a commotion as usual. That's all I'm asking."

"Thanks."

"No problem, Zellus."

The guard unlocked the door for Zellus and Motoyasu to enter, shocking the hero as to how easy it had been. He would have assumed that there was some type of resistance into letting him in there, but it was clearly tipped in the other direction. He started to wonder how much influence Zellus really had, until one of the other guards opened up his mouth.

"W-Wait, we're just going to let him in? Seriously? Even if he's a high knight, the orders were to not let anyone without permission through. These are the highest levelled criminals here!"

"Uh, yeah. Trust me, rookie. It's _much _easier for everyone if you let this guy do what he wants. When I say that, I _mean_ it. Besides, if there's any problems to arise, he's the type to clean up after himself."

Zellus did a little, playful wave to the rookie as he looked stunned between the two higher-ranked knights.

"Won't we get in trouble?"

"Captain Lothringen will understand. He always understands when it comes to Zellus."

"I-I see…"

From one end of respect to another side of hilarity, it was rather amusing to see that his guess had been off track by a significant margin, but if it got the same results, he couldn't be judging Zellus on the tactic.

However, the rookie knight had looked over towards Motoyasu's direction, finally acknowledging him. He even pointed him out to his senior.

"Okay, but… what about him?"

"That guy's with me," Zellus said, pointing back with a thumb.

"If he's with Zellus, it'll be fine. If anything, I kinda feel bad for the guy since it feels like he's being dragged along in this little mischief."

"... You know, I really didn't expect there to be exceptions of our knight duties to this."

"You pick these things up quickly, rookie." The guard slapped the assigned rookie quite hard on his back. "Don't let it overwhelm you too much; it's fine to take one step at a time."

"Y-Yes, sir."

Frankly, Motoyasu was a bit surprised that they didn't outright mention that he was the Spear Hero, but perhaps there were some knights that didn't manage to see his face during his appearance here. The gem on his spear was currently tucked away from view, so it was rather difficult to know if he was the hero from a single glance.

After easily passing the guards, they stepped into the deepest part of the prisons which held a completely different atmosphere to the area before it. It was incredible how much bloodlust and misery he could feel, just from the intensity of the air alone and he hadn't even looked into the cells yet.

Though, the cells were constructed differently here. Instead of a simple iron bar that was layered between walkers and prisoners, it had been an iron door with a small hole for looking inside. It only made for the unbreathable aura to be all that more impressive, yet scary.

They were going deeper than that until Zellus stopped in front of an isolated cell to the side.

"This is it. Ren's just in here."

Motoyasu's heart clenched as well as his hand, holding up to his chest.

"You wanna back out? Once you come to talk to him," Zellus said, having some type of unreadable smirk on his face, "_there's no turning back_."

"Even though I'm not, I still want to see him."

Zellus, without another word, pulled out his keys for the last time and unlocked the cell's front door, granting Motoyasu a brief moment of hesitation. However, it wasn't enough to push him down, only resulting in him gulping the restlessness down to his heart.

In the room, there was another set of iron bars and behind it, Ren had his arm hanging up by shackles as his body was motionlessly slumped against the wall. His holy sword was still in the sheath behind him, but his outfit looked like it had been through hell and back. He couldn't even see Ren's face correctly, both from the lack of lighting and the bangs that covered his eyes.

Motoyasu's feet moved by themselves, unable to wait for his mind to think about it.

He ran up to the bars and with a loud clunk, he held onto them with a terrible concern stricken upon him. His breaths were rather faint, but it made up for the hard pounding of his heart.

"R-Ren…?"

There was no response, but Motoyasu wondered if Ren was mad at him. Sliding himself off the iron bars, he took a seat on the uneven ground in front of the cell. His vision swayed down to the floor, suddenly feeling some shame in bringing himself to the friend.

Zellus had walked in and closed the door behind them, but held himself to the back wall to give some semblance of privacy to them. He made sure to keep a visual on both Spear Hero and Sword Hero, just in case.

Motoyasu took a deep breath before he let the words flow out.

"Ren, I… I was told that you really did attack the Church on whatever day it happened. I know you aren't the type of person to randomly do it, but there must have been another way. I have a feeling that the reason you attacked the Church was because of Naofumi's trial. You found out that the Church was trying to pull the strings, right?"

There wasn't even movement from the Sword Hero, but Motoyasu continued.

"I met up with Aldrecht after the trial and he told me that he had suspicions as well. He told me that as long as we don't involve ourselves too deeply into this, he'll figure something out. We didn't have to do much, but you still took your own actions. You risked your status as a hero, just to help out Naofumi."

Motoyasu closed his eyes, but he didn't really know the words that came out.

"Was I wrong to trust Aldrecht on that? Should I… have done something else like you?"

There was something bitter about asking the question aloud, but it was something that he desperately wanted to know, yet at the same time, he didn't. He couldn't grasp why this was the case if he asked out loud, but his body winced alongside tightened hands.

Ren remained silent and still.

So did Motoyasu after his concern, but then broke the umbral atmosphere after a short moment.

"I want… I want to help you out, Ren. I'm going against Aldrecht's wishes for me to not contact you until this whole Church of Three Heroes fiasco has ended, but it hurts me to see a good friend of mine like this. It was the same when I saw Naofumi in cuffs in the throne room. It's weird that people can praise me for being their hero when I can't even help out my friends.

"You might be mad that I couldn't pick a side, but I know that Myne wouldn't be someone to randomly accuse Naofumi, much less a hero, like that. I believed Naofumi, but I chose to believe in Myne as well. I know that there's another side that we couldn't see due to the contradictions, but that's what I believed happened. There's something that we don't know yet, but Aldrecht does know about it already. That's why I believed him, because there wasn't really another choice."

His back leaned forwards, bending his spine with a slight curve.

"I don't know, Ren. I don't know what I should do! I just wanted my friends to be happy! That's all! Why does it have to be so hard!?"

If everyone had been happy, no one would get hurt with any type of physical injuries or emotional pain. That's the type of atmosphere that Motoyasu wanted in his life, ever since he understood its concept and even more so after gaining his past trauma.

That's why he wanted to believe people; he didn't want those close to him to be affected by any types of despair that would have driven them into certain mentalities. He didn't want his friends and allies to be fighting against each other when they should have been having fun.

Perhaps that was the problem, but Motoyasu refused to acknowledge it.

He knew there had to be a way to do it and that's why he kept trying, but being brought into a different world brought upon a whole new level of stress, all crashing down on his shoulders.

"Please, tell me. What should I do?"

Motoyasu didn't dare to look at Ren anymore. His head had graviated downwards, refusing to rise, but it was likely for the best. His trail of thought started to become clouded.

"You're someone that's so strong-willed, Ren. I like that about you and it's what I think about when it comes to tough decisions like this. You refuse to give up and you're so clear on your decisions, while I'm always finding it difficult to keep moving forwards, so you would know what you should do if you were in my situation right now."

His voice had been choking up, but he hadn't heard Ren's voice utter a sound yet.

Perhaps he was annoyed that Motoyasu couldn't think for himself here.

"I was… thinking that we can get Aldrecht's help again here to find a way to bail you out, but I don't know how much progress he made on Naofumi's case so far. Aldrecht, from what Zellus told me, isn't trying to help you out of this, so I'm going to try my best to convince Aldrecht to lend you a hand.

"Is that the right course of action here?"

As the question flew out, Motoyasu immediately shook his head.

"No, it's not." His shoulders dropped down. "There's no promise that I'll be able to get Aldrecht to help out and then what? For being a hero, I can't really do much for my friends."

Even if he wanted to make investigations, he wouldn't know where to start. He could ask Aldrecht for information, but it was more likely that Aldrecht wouldn't part with it if he ever found out what the intentions were. Besides, he wasn't even the type to be snooping his nose around the Church; he would get discovered before he could count to ten.

Ren, regardless of what he said, remained quiet, causing Motoyasu to look back up.

"H-Hey, at least say something…"

He would have appreciated some acknowledgement, even if it was angered yelling, but not saying anything to him had been unnerving and probably much more painful for Motoyasu to experience.

"... Oh, _right_. I forgot to mention a small detail," Zellus' voice rose up against the mood, unflinching in his words. "He's unconscious. Has been for a few days."

"W-Wha-!? Huh!?" Motoyasu flicked his head back and forth between Zellus and Ren, before diving his flustered face into his hands. "You could have at least told me beforehand!"

"If I didn't, you wouldn't be able to think about what you're trying to do here."

His rosen emotions suddenly transitioned after hearing the truth spill out from the knight. He was right, after all. He didn't know why he wanted to see Ren, only for the reason to make sure that he was fine, but other than that, there must have been another pulling factor. Seeing his friend before him enabled his ability to finally pour his heart out and form it into legible words.

"Also, I forgot," the knight cheekily added in.

"E-Erhm… Thanks, Zellus. I guess it's the thought that counts," he wryly chuckled. "Maybe next time, you'll be able to bring me here while Ren's awake?"

A single clack echoed in the hallway as the iron door opened up so suddenly, surprising Motoyasu, yet not Zellus. He stood still as Motoyasu gasped at the man that walked in with his cane.

"_You won't be doing_ such a thing, Spear Hero."

"A-Aldrecht!?" He took a step back out of both surprise and fear. He stumbled on himself, waving his hands around frantically. "W-What are you doing here? I-I mean…! I can explain!"

There were two knights stationed outside in the hallway as Motoyasu tried to come up with an excuse as to why they were here, but none of them seemed reasonable enough to allow him to be here. If anything, the best thing to say was to tell Aldrecht the truth. Aldrecht, however, glanced over to Zellus, who didn't even bother to look back and made a tired sigh.

"You're not in trouble, Spear Hero. So you discovered that the Sword Hero was arrested?"

Motoyasu nodded. "I wanted to know the full story. I'm not going to let another case of Naofumi's trial happen again."

"Despite my warning to not meet with him, even if it was in the depths of a prison?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry, Aldrecht."

Aldrecht bit his tongue, as if he wanted to say more, but he shook his head to himself and turned around. "I suppose it is unhealthy to friends away from each other forcefully. If anything, I should be glad that your meeting was in a rather secured location. However, I wish to talk to you about this incident. I expect Zellus had already informed you of what he knows."

The knight nodded just within Aldrecht's field of vision.

"Good. Then I'll continue the rest. Please follow me, Spear Hero." Aldrecht took his steps out of the cell and had the other knights clear the way for them. "We'll find a better place to discuss. Besides, you won't be able to find the answers you seek from your friend yet."

"I guess this is where we part ways, Motoyasu," Zellus said.

"You're not coming?"

"This is between you and the old guy. Not sure if I want to be third-wheeling here."

"Yes, I'll have a conversation with Zellus another time," Aldrecht said, looking over his shoulder. It was as if there was quite the disapprovement aiding his voice. "For now, I'll be giving you my full attention and I expect the same from you. As you're here, I want to ask you a few things of my own."

Motoyasu didn't know what to think of this, but it seemed to be much easier to come with him rather than make a commotion over it. With that, he'll be able to make an attempt at persuasion for Ren's sake, but this would also be a good moment to get updated on how far he was in Naofumi's case.

Silently nodding, Motoyasu started to leave with Aldrecht.

"I'll lock up behind you," Zellus said, twirling his keys. "Don't you worry about it."

Without another word, the Spear Hero and the king's retainer left the area, alongside the knights that had been on nearby patrol. Zellus stepped out after them and took his time to lock up Ren's prison, but kept his eyes off to the corner to see when everyone had left the hallway.

He then unlocked it again and stepped back into the room.

He then unlocked the immediate cell door and stepped into Ren's proximity with a smirk.

Dropping the paper bag of food at his feet, he took out another key out of the assortment and looked onwards to the right shackle, disattaching it from Ren's wrist. He sat back down, almost imitating Motoyasu's previous position, only to remove what was inside the paper bag.

It had been a meal.

To be specific, it was the new menu item at the tavern that he offered to Lothringen, taken as a to-go platter. With a sauce spilled across the pre-cutted meat, layered on top of mashed potatoes and other assorted colourful vegetables, it was one of the more expensive dishes on the menu and certainly not the late-night dinner that belonged to a prisoner.

However, it wasn't for Zellus to indulge on. He already had his share before meeting with Motoyasu.

"Ignoring your friends when they express concern to you is a bad thing, wouldn't you say?"

Placing the spoon onto the take-out container, Ren's free arm started to move towards the food. He was certainly awake, but as the knight focused his sights on the imprisoned Sword Hero, all he could see were dark swirls in his eyes. The only thing that prevented him from cracking was the single beacon of light remaining in the center.

"_Naofumi's an idiot… Motoyasu's a dumbass…_"

His mumbling voice, so quiet that Zellus had a hard time hearing it, had been rather disjointed by his actions. His body recognized the food laid out before him and started to eat it up the spoon carefully, but his mind couldn't recognize who had been the one to give it to him. He would have likely refused if he was still in the right state of mind.

"_Why… Why did this even happen…?_"

Ren Amaki hadn't been unconscious, so Zellus had lied to Motoyasu.

Ren Amaki was unconscious, so Zellus was telling the truth to him.

Zellus never expected this to be the result of their fight. He thought that Ren would be able to recover normally after being knocked out, but even as his body moved naturally, he never really woke up from his slumber. He thought that having him meet Motoyasu would have snapped him right back to sanity, but there really was only one person that could help him out.

"_It...suki… Stay far… away… Stay… sa…fe…_"

It was a shame that the Church already caught the Bow Hero in their little trap.

And so, Zellus stayed until Ren was finished eating, humming a tune as he thought about what he was going to do next. Everything was starting to come together for him, but he just needed to make sure that he could play around the other variables in this situation.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

Motoyasu never took the time to look up into the stars before.

He always considered them as part of the background, nothing really worth focusing on, but as their lights shined above him, he couldn't say anymore that they weren't interesting. He knew that the two younger roommates were once avid stargazers from Itsuki's own mouth, but ever since they've moved in, they've slowly parted ways from the hobby.

They do, however, have the habit of looking up into the skies every now and then. After Itsuki shyly admitted to that, he had noticed it a few times with them. Indeed, there was something calming about it and he started to understand the appeal of looking up at the dark skies while the stars scattered about like sprinkles on a blank cake.

"It's quite the beautiful night, is it not? I sometimes stay past midnight in order to complete a few experiments and research papers, but never have I ever stepped out to see the wonders that the castle staff have been tending to, in order for the others to enjoy their stroll through the garden. This, as well, is another type of research that must be cultivated through knowledge and hypothesis."

Aldrecht's question echoed throughout as they stood within the center of the area. The flowers of all assortments stood as the spectators, brightening the area almost as if they were using their own type of magic. Even if this was another world, Motoyasu could recognize some of the familiar shapes and subtle scents. He wanted to say that they were even one of the same if he hadn't been told about the context.

Though, he had to laugh a bit at the similarity. Perhaps Ren and Itsuki would have had some problems figuring the plants from each other, so he shouldn't be saying anything about the stars.

Still, it was breathtaking, having the combination of stars and flowers in unity to create a peaceful resolution.

"I heard that a stroll helps with stress." Aldrecht stopped in the middle, nearby the fountain and sat down on the bench. He remained to hold his cane, standing vertically from the ground. "Is this true? Have you calmed down and rested your nerves, Spear Hero?"

"Yeah, a stroll really does help." Pressing his hand on his chest, he could feel his heart returning back to normal unlike the heavy pounding it was experiencing previously. "Even though my thoughts aren't entirely there yet, it feels a bit right to take it easy, especially with a soothing atmosphere like this."

"You'll have to express your gratitude towards the king for that. He was the one to tell about such an interesting mental exercise."

"I guess he's not called the Wise Sage King for nothing," Motoyasu jested. "Random pieces of wisdom must really be part of his strong suit!"

With Motoysu's dry laughter being brushed away in the quiet breeze, Aldrecht gestured to Motoyasu to take a seat next to him. Accepting the offer, he walked over and plunged himself down, being careful to keep some respectful distance between them.

His amusement then slowly cracked, showing his true feelings on his shoulders.

"... Aldrecht. If it's not rude of me to start off, then could you tell me the progress you made in clearing Naofumi's name?"

There was a terribly long pause, before a heavy sigh.

"I must truly apologize, Spear Hero. Even when I gave you my word, I have been having quite difficulty in making any significant progress. The Church is tight and it's not as if I could have some waltz in to get the information we need."

Motoyasu's heart was about to sink until Aldrecht continued his thoughts.

"However, someone did indeed waltz in outside of my influence. In that case, I do believe that the Sword Hero has some pieces of the puzzle that are of utmost importance in clearing the Shield Hero's name. Have you been told what the details of his crimes were?

"He… attacked the library of the Church of Three Heroes."

"And is that all of what you've been told?"

"That's all Zellus told me, added with the fact that you aren't helping him out."

Aldrecht scrunched his eyebrows at what Motoyasu just said.

"I don't know where Zellus got that idea, but I am indeed trying to assist the Sword Hero as well. In fact, I'm rather grateful that Zellus had helped handle the situation because we have the Sword Hero safely 'protected', if you will, from any more influence from the Church."

"What does that have to do with Ren having the final pieces?"

"I expected that the Sword Hero had uncovered evidence there, thus the Church acted hastily against him. The reports said that the library was set ablaze and from what we know of the Sword Hero, he doesn't have the capability to use fire magic." Aldrecht stroked his white beard, as if he needed the moment to articulate his thoughts. "I believe that was an inside job, caused by the people of the Church themselves when they discovered the Sword Hero snooping around. I did refrain from telling anyone so far, due to my need of confirming it with the Sword Hero."

"So when Ren wakes up from his unconsciousness and tells you about the evidence…"

Aldrecht nodded. "At that point, I'll be able to work together with the king and convince him to put off the Sword Hero's trial. I can only foresee a short delay, due to the public disturbance that the Sword Hero did end up making, but that would be enough time for me to send operatives deeper into the problem."

He was glad that there was some type of light at the end of this tunnel. If Ren truly did have the information needed to free Naofumi from the stained shackles that was his reputation, they could tie all of this up in a little red bow tie and he'll be able to express his condolences and apologies to Naofumi himself.

Though he was concerned about how the crime was done in the first place, truth be told, he concluded that someone was trying to steal Naofumi's identity in order to assault Myne. In a world of magic and fantasy, illusion magic must have existed.

Without it, there were one contradiction. If Naofumi was innocent, Myne was lying. If Myne was telling the truth, Naofumi was guilty. If this had been their world, there is no possible way for Naofumi to be innocent while Myne had been telling the truth. It was as simple as that, but Motoyasu hated that.

Was the truth something he hadn't considered yet?

"However, I must share something I've uncovered lately, Spear Hero. It's something that makes me doubt that all of this might be in vain."

"In vain!?" Motoyasu was flabbergasted, standing up with a tantrum. "How could it ever be in vain!? I want to help out my friends here! And if you said that I can't keep in contact with them, then you'll have to finish this up as quickly as you can!"

"Do you know if they are truly your friends?"

Motoyasu blinked silently. A turmoil of confused emotions kicked up in his stomach.

"Do you know that these are the exact _same_ people that we once lived with?"

"Y-Yeah…" Motoyasu shook his head to get himself back firmly on the ground. "I-I mean, why wouldn't they be? We all went through the same thing when we were being called to Melromarc and there were memories that we shared at the banquet. I think. I was… uhm, drunk, so it's a bit foggy for me."

"I should first tell you about your summoning ritual beforehand as context."

As Motoyasu sat himself back down, Aldrecht started to discuss those details with him. There were a lot of technical jargon that Motoyasu wasn't aware of, but he managed to understand the general idea due to the terminology he learned from _Emerald Online_. However, he still didn't understand what relation this had to do with anything until Aldrecht tied it back to his original proposition.

The summoning ritual had an error to it that was inexplicable to even the highly-regarded scholar, but due to his recent discoveries, he could offer an hypothesis that only one of the heroes was actually summoned properly. It would explain the three lingering sources of energy and how the prophecy was blatantly ignored when requesting those from different worlds.

This was likely, but it came with severe implications.

"Your friends may not be in the correct state of mind, if that was the case."

"R-Really?" Motoyasu remembered their first day here, but he couldn't see any inconsistencies. "T-They seemed normal…"

"Perhaps it was an act," Aldrecht answered. "I came across a book supplied by Zellus that talked about the possibilities of false heroes. It seemed quite old, though I wasn't informed as to where he got it from. However, I was needing to trust it when our options were limited, especially coming from a good source."

Flinching at the term of 'false heroes', Motoyasu didn't like the sound of it, but he knew he had to press on with what Aldrecht had to say. "And what was inside?"

"It tells of the possibility of false heroes and it stems from the conditions of the heroes that were summoned. For instance, if a hero is summoned somehow with two weapons, breaking the prophecy of four possible people, that hero must be dealt with accordingly as allowing him to exist will result in a fallen kingdom. Apparently, it happened in the far past already, but was never recorded in any of the historian documents due to how terrible it had been."

Motoyasu was astounded that such a thing could happen, but that brought up a logical question. The weapons were supposed to cancel experience gain when they were close by with each other, right? that was the entire reason why he couldn't go on an adventure with his closest friends, so he didn't exactly understand how a hero who was stuck with two of the four holy weapons was supposed to get strong enough to burn down an entire country.

Perhaps there was some type of exception here? Or perhaps a rule of exception?

"From then on, a hero with two holy weapons, though not known to the public, is considered evil and fake." Aldrecht's grip on his cane tightened a bit as he leaned forwards from his tensed shoulders. "There were other cases where the prophecy had been violated and it all resulted in the heroes committing bad deeds to the place that summoned them. I fear that this is what happened here."

"W-Wait, then…" Motoyasu pounded his chest and glared at the old man. "Wouldn't I be included in that!? I think I can tell if I was going to do evil deeds or not and I can say for certain that I wouldn't do any of that!"

"That is true, but once again, the summoning ritual acted as if one hero was summoned. Now I understand that one hero was _indeed _summoned. If you all came from the same world, the prophecy was not violated in one of the four cases. Hypothetically, say that the Shield Hero and the Sword Hero have committed their crimes. That leaves the Bow Hero and the Spear Hero as our true hero, deeming the rest as false."

"But Itsuki wouldn't do stuff like evil! He loves seeing justice unfold!"

"You say that, but I've also received a report earlier that the Bow Hero had attacked a former comrade of mine to the Siltvelt War. There was reportedly nothing that could have invoked the attack, but it left his manor in shambles."

Motoyasu stared at Aldrecht in disbelief.

"It… suki did? Wh… What…?"

"I am still trying to figure out the reasoning and I called Sir Lothringen to keep this matter a secret for now, but it will only be due time that news of the Bow Hero's rampage will spread to the public ears." Aldrecht turned, meeting with Motoyasu's frozen expression. "However, if he was indeed a false hero, he does not need a reason to spread chaos. That leaves you as our true hero."

"W-Wait, I'm still trying to process this!" Motoyasu screamed, grabbing his head. He wanted to scream even louder in anguish, but his lungs wouldn't allow for it. "So if what you're saying is correct, something messed up and it altered the mentality of my friends to allow them to commit crimes? Is that what you're saying!?"

"Unfortunately, that does seem to be the case."

"That's crazy! That's definitely crazy!" Motoyasu ran up from his seat and grabbed Aldrecht by his shoulders, shaking the man almost violently, but he didn;t say anything about it. Aldrecht knew, simply by looking into his eyes, that the Spear Hero wasn't thinking straight from the revelation. "That can't be real! Whoever said that this was real has to be insane!"

"And that's why I need to check with the Sword Hero," Aldrecht calmly said. His stern voice managed to switch Motoyasu back to reasonably normal as he realized what he was doing in his confusion. Motoyasu backed off in a daze, stumbling around as if he was going to fall over, but he never did. "I need to be certain that this is the case by checking up on him. He is not able to respond at the moment, so we must wait a few days to a week for him to properly recover. At that point, we can properly uncover the truth."

Motoyasu couldn't hear much of it. His face was being buried in his hands, trying to wrap his head around the mere notion that his friends would commit crimes intentionally. It doesn't seem possible, even if some changes through the summoning process had messed their heads up a little.

"... I-I want you to promise me something else, Aldrecht."

"Anything within my capabilities."

Motoyasu threw his hands down and stared at the ground. He didn't even want to look at Aldrecht, but perhaps it was because he didn't want Aldrecht to see the scared expression on his face. Though, it might have been clear with his trembling body.

"When Ren wakes up, I want you to bring me to him like how Zellus did for me."

The flashes of his long-ago memory of the two girls flickered before his eyes.

"If they're hiding their true emotions, I want to hear it. I want to see for myself that the error in the summoning ritual really did mess them up in a noticeable way."

As Motoyasu's heart ached by simply saying those words, he didn't realize his own hypocrisy of the truth. He wanted them to reveal themselves for him to understand while remaining to hide his own burdens for no one else to see. He saw it as a natural thing to do, as he didn't want others to share the same weight on his shoulders by telling them his sorrows, but it was still hypocrisy in the bitter end.

Somewhere, Motoyasu knew it. He just didn't want to see it.

Aldrecht had paused, thinking about the promise and its possible consequences, but he nodded afterwards.

"You have my word, Spear Hero. I will have someone come get you when the Sword Hero awakens, but you must remain stationed around the capital until then."

It was a good thing that Zellus wanted to train him, giving him the excuse to spend time here.

"If there's nothing else to talk about, I would… kinda appreciate sleeping in a guest room tonight." Motoyasu wryly smiled at the old man, scratching the back of his head in a casual manner. "It's really late out and I'm a bit tired, both physically and mentally."

Aldrecht smiled back. "I can understand that, Spear Hero. Please inform one of the castle staff here and they'll gladly show you to a room. You can say that you've been in a long discussion with me and they would understand."

Motoyasu nodded. "Thanks, Aldrecht."

As the Spear Hero left, shrouded in his own thoughts, Aldrecht remained to stay underneath the stars, basking in the natural beauty once more. He wondered about the information himself and he wasn't entirely sure it was the right thing to do, informing the Spear Hero of such a thing. However, that belief in his friends reminded him of the king.

He wondered if it was a good idea to leave out the fact that the Shield Hero had been helping out the Sword Hero's escape, only to be able to escape by himself. He assured himself that it wouldn't do much to the situation and only stirred up more emotions within the young man.

Sleep would only benefit him and frankly, he himself was growing tired.

After spending a few more minutes in silence, he went ahead to return to his personal quarters.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

Lesty had been fast asleep in her room, but she heard a sudden knocking noise at her window. She thought it had been the wind at first, but it certainly wasn't when something crashed through it, shattering the glass in its entirety. She immediately stiffed and awakened, grabbing her weapon in case it was an intruder, but she was half-surprised to see who it had been.

Confusion turned into annoyance, then transitioned into exasperation. Her grip on her weapon loosened a bit, seeing the familiar knight who stretched out his arms after the blatant break-and-enter.

"You could have knocked on the door," she sighed, laying her weapon back on the side. "Any louder than you would probably waken up the people in the adjacent rooms."

"Don't worry, no one's in there. The Spear Hero would have been on the left and the room on the right is currently not in use. And besides, breaking down windows is pretty fun to give people heart attacks!" He winked at the girl. "As a knight, you should have been fully prepared to attack."

"You never change, Zellus. In fact, you quite literally haven't." Lesty walked over to the bed and sat down comfortably, remembering when he was first announced as a knight to the kingdom. "You look the same as you were when I was younger. Maybe you could share your secrets with a girl like me?"

"It's not a secret that you could ever use. Trust me, it's more bothersome than you might think," he wryly smiled.

Zellus approached another seat in the room and made himself up home, kicking his feet onto the nearby table and crossing his arms. He was careful not to knock anything down, adjusting his swords so that he could take the posture. After brushing his bang out of his face, his attention returned to Lesty.

"So? How is the entire situation with the Spear Hero going on your side?"

"Huh?" Her eyebrows furrowed. "I make my reports to Lord Aldrecht, you know. I haven't been slacking off with them for you to personally ask me. If you really wanted to know, you should have requested them from the royal spymaster or even Captain Lothringen."

The entire time that Lesty had been with Motoyasu, she had been writing up her observations as the king had informed her and sending it back to the capital. She hasn't taken up such a job before with such diligence required, but it hasn't been problematic so far. It was merely a few sentences describing their situation and the current mindset or plans of the Spear Hero every few days.

She was sure that someone like Batka would have been sending pages about the Sword Hero every time, but she was much more direct in her writing; it was something she knew that would be appreciated if any unneeded details were left out.

Regardless, Zellus waved his hand to push her argument aside.

"No, no. Not that. I'm talking about the things that the princess told you not to write."

"W-What…?"

"I had to confirm the mentality of the Spear Hero myself today and judging from how he acted, it's obvious that you were slacking off on your job."

Lesty's body flinched and pulled back instinctively. "I-I'm not sure what you're referring to."

"Look, I want to check up with you on something."

"I don't think that's—"

"Here's my problem." From his crossed arms, he pulled out an arm, pointing a single raised finger towards her, interrupting any attempt to stop the rundown. "How did the Spear Hero learn about the Sword Hero's arrest?"

"I sent it in the report, did I not? There were rumors flying about the village and it would be almost impossible to isolate Sir Motoyasu away from the public, especially when he's doing a job for them."

"The village with a famine," Zellus nodded, reeling his arm back. "Yes, I've read about that, but despite no one saying anything about, I certainly have to ask. Your report also stated that it took a few days to arrive there and you left a day or two before the Sword Hero was arrested. According to what information and tips I managed to uncover, there weren't any confirmed trips that went from the capital to that famined village in the days inbetween. I mean, why would there be any? Merchants and adventurers aren't the type to go where money or products are little far inbetween."

Zellus made a hearty laugh as Lesty winced in the cross-examination.

"And besides, it's a damn famine! No one is going to waste their time, talking about rumors from the capital! They're too worried about getting food in the stomachs of them and their children! The castle could blow up and they wouldn't even give a damn!"

He swung his feet off the table and slammed his arm on the surface. His outspoken tone relayed back to an unsettling calmness.

"I'll ask again. How did the Spear Hero learn about the Sword Hero's arrest? You were ordered to keep the Spear Hero away from the capital and by correlation, that meant he could not hear about that matter."

Lesty stayed silent, biting his tongue while looking away.

"You failed in your job, but I needed to know if that was on purpose."

She said nothing, but that reaction already answered him what he wanted to know.

"So it was the princess herself." She winced in the deduction, gazing back at Zellus as if she wanted to ask how he knew that. However, he answered before she could say a word. "If it was you, you would have said it by now. If it had been the other party members, you would have ratted them out by now. The only person that remains is the princess, your close friend."

"And what if she was the one to tell him? She only expressed concern, thinking that Sir Motoyasu should have the right to know. Besides, she wasn't issued with any orders herself, so she wouldn't have…"

However, as Lesty talked onwards, her head started to connect pieces together by themselves. A certain question arose from the ashes.

"And that's my point. She wasn't informed of the orders, so she couldn't have known about the arrest so soon. Unless she overheard your conversation with the Shadow, but even then, they would have detected her presence. In that case, it's clearly not that. Where did _she _hear about the arrest then?"

Lesty pondered at it for a moment, realizing that there had been instances where she could have quietly made contact with a third party. She would often prefer to head off by herself sometimes and she was directly ordered to stay with the others to watch them rather than to go with the princess herself.

However, Zellus didn't have the real question.

The concern had been _who_ had been the one to inform her.

"Do you know, Lesty?"

"I-I don't know," she shook her head. "Even if I did, the princess would most likely dissuade me from reporting it."

"It's fine. I believe you."

Zellus leaned forwards in his set and pressed his arms on the table.

"I was trying to figure if the princess was working with the Church of Three Heroes since the entire situation smelt badly. I think it was an intentional action to bring the Spear Hero back to the capital, but I can't figure out what they want from him. They haven't made contact yet; that alone is raising some question marks."

"I do believe that the princess has connections with the Church, even with the head nun there," Lesty revealed. "However, I don't think that in itself means anything, Zellus. What would being allied with the Church do for this?"

"You don't need to know about that," Zellus smirked. Aldrecht said that he wanted to limit the amount of people that knew about the Church's plan to go against the royal family, but he intended to do just that for him, whether it was better or worse off. "I'm only piecing together the hidden report where _others _may not have, but I think this is good enough for me. Whoever she's allied with, I can cross off one team from that list. The most important one, mind I add."

"What are you even talking about?"

"In addition, I now understand how involved you are, being the princess' friend and all. And I'll have to admit, it seems like you're relatively clean. Sorry for any doubt."

"You're not making any sense. What do you mean by that?"

Zellus jumped out of his seat and walked over to the shattered window. He swept all of the broken glass into one pile in the corner with his foot, ignoring Lesty's desire of clarification. It was painfully obvious that she wasn't going to get an answer out of the knight anytime soon.

That extravagant knight already got what he wanted.

He wanted to see the intentions of this undercover knight and where her alignments were, mainly due to the fact that he and the Spear Hero received an unexpected visitor during their trip to the Sword Hero. He kept the information vague about what he was planning with Motoyasu, but it seemed like he was discovered to a certain degree.

Regardless, he didn't think that Lesty would have suddenly reported his movements to the king, much less Aldrecht himself. In that case, he already had an idea which little bird had flown to his office and informed him of his untold plans.

A certain, ambitious red bird, if he had to say.

"Oh, and uh… I'll pay for this," Zellus said, pointing down at the broken glass and window. "Don't worry about the charges. I'll talk with the innkeeper and arrange a payment."

"... I was hoping you were thinking about that already."

He properly opened the window this time, so that his jump back out wouldn't be met with broken shards that managed to hang on for dear life, but as his hands placed themselves onto the windowside, he paused when a breeze brushed his hair.

"Actually, there's… one more thing I've been wondering."

He didn't turn his head, but the buried curiosity was suddenly dug up. He thought something got lost in translation, but seeing that he was the one that selected the knights for Aldrecht, he might as well bring it up. Gripping tighter on the ledge, he spoke quite sternly.

"Why were _you _the one to be chosen to accompany the heroes?"

"Huh? The king called me in for it, as well as Batka and Kojeel. Since the princess wanted to come with one of the heroes, I had to accompany her as well alongside the task of reporting. It was a slight blunder when she spontaneously wanted to switch to the Shield Hero while I was specifically ordered to watch the Spear Hero."

"Hmm. Is that so?"

Zellus, without another thought, jumped out the window, leaving the girl behind to exhale deeply. It was like the air just lightened when he left, but if she didn't know how Zellus acted, she would have been quite the sheltered and aloof knight.

As she glanced out the window, it looked as if there were a few more hours until the sun rose up into the horizon. She didn't know what was happening, but all she hoped was that it wasn't going to be heavy on her involvement. She already had her hands full, after all.

And little did she know, so did Zellus.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

**Author's Notes :**

The Motoyasu Chapters was intended to only be a single chapter, but then it extended itself into three. As if the inworld month hadn't been long enough to readers. Have I mentioned how the Riyute Village Wave yet? Yeah, that's a great reminder!

*sigh*

Sometimes, this is painful.

I'm aware it's moving so slow, but I don't have the ability to lessen the pace without killing the tension. I tried it once already. It did not work, not meeting my own expectations.

Anyways, I should mention that there are many pieces to this narrative, but as it is in reality, there are lies sprinkled far inbetween to prevent all sides from seeing the real truth, from what the characters have told others or even what their somewhat limited narration has informed readers.

Having multiple perspectives does not mean you get the full story. There may be contradictions, but there is only one truth. These chapters were intended to help concrete that idea, even if it was much more than intended.

Going from Ren to Naofumi to Itsuki and then Motoyasu.

Next time, we start up the Naofumi/Itsuki Chapters and see what they're up to in Riyute Village.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|—(  
SKIT 044 : Familiar Tune**

[Zellus] : _(*humming*)_

[Motoyasu] : "Hey, wait. That song…!"

[Zellus] : "Oh? You already heard this song?"

[Motoyasu] : "Well, not here. It reminds me of a song that played during the opening sequence of a certain television show back in my world. The name is slipping off my tongue, but I know it was a popular one!"

[Motoyasu] : "Ah, but I… guess you don't know what a television is…"

[Zellus] : "No, it's alright. I can probably guess based on your context. Though, I only remember the tune of it. It's been so long since I actually heard the words that they kinda faded away in obscurity."

[Motoyasu] : "Oh, is it not a popular song here?"

[Zellus] : "You can say that. To be honest, I'd be surprised if anyone in this country knew about the song. The song's been passed down quite a number of times in isolation and you're talking to the most recent person that has the song in their pocket of this world."

[Motoyasu] : "Ah, so it's a family thing? A tradition of some kind?"

[Zellus] : "I have no parents. Not anymore. They were killed before my eyes when I was young."

[Motoyasu] : "... I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring it up."

[Zellus] : "Nah, it doesn't bother me, but don't let that distract you from the fact that you know about the song! Mind telling me the words? I was wondering what they were again!"

[Motoyasu] : "I… uh… never paid _that_ much attention to be able to know them."

[Zellus] : "And I'm back to being disappointed."

[Motoyasu] : "Wait, '_back to_'!?"

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|—(  
SKIT 045 : Target**

[Zellus] : "There has to be a reason as to why Myne was informed about the arrest, but the most likely candidate that was her source was the Church of Three Heroes. For some reason, they wanted to bring the Spear Hero back, the lone hero that remained to be unconvicted for some crime. Even the Bow Hero got messed over with that incident at some noble's manor, if what my sources are saying is correct."

[Zellus] : "But why would they call upon the Spear Hero? I can't think of a reason for them to have him here, especially during this time. In fact, it's like they're trying to round out the cast here. Was it because he showed the slightest belief for the Shield Hero? It couldn't be. They would be treating him like the Sword Hero and the Bow Hero on the day of the trial, but they can't afford to lose their last hero to the capital."

[Zellus] : "I don't think he showed any connection to the Shield Hero at the trial, since I was told Aldrecht was informed about their origins _after_ the trial."

[Zellus] : "Then are they just extrapolating? If so, that would be quite a dumb move and Aldrecht could easily call them out using the problem with the summoning ritual where three out of the four sources of energy still remained."

[Zellus] : "The castle was secured, aside from the princess' words, but I don't think she could ever…"

[Zellus] : "_Wait_. How the hell did the princess know that the Spear Hero would have acted like that for the Sword Hero? A guessed correlation with the Shield Hero?"

[Zellus] : "Or did the Spear Hero himself tell her at some point even though he was told not to spread that information? But that can't be right, he doesn't seem like the type to spill secrets out easily. Especially his own."

[Zellus] : "But maybe if they had met at some point between the twenty-four hours of receiving their party members and the Shield Hero's arrest in the morning…"

[Zellus] : "Ah, I… see…"

[Zellus] : "Heh. Heh heh heh. HA HA HA!"

[Zellus] : "_How interesting!_ _How very interesting! This has become quite an interesting situation!_"

[Zellus] : "I'm going to definitely enjoy watching this unfold!"

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**


	26. Chapter 1-25 : Sin of Justice

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

"_Hold on_, so let me get this straight. Demi-humans grow up like normal people. However, their growth can be influenced by the Status Magic. As they gain levels, their age will rapidly increase until they hit a certain point and then they simply grow as per usual. In other words, they get to basically skip puberty if they put in levels when they're young which is your situation right now?"

"Pretty much, I think. That's what I recall from what my parents told me."

"So I guess the money-making question is obvious. How old are you right now?"

"Technically? Ten. Actually? I'm around sixteen now."

"... Huh."

Itsuki leaned forwards onto the lobby's table, holding his curly bangs up from his forehead as those hands sunk into their place instead, all while staring at Raphtalia from across the table. She had a rather wryly chuckle as Itsuki was coming to these terms, letting out a sigh.

"Geez, I know this is a fantasy world and all, but seeing you grow up quickly and be at my height in the span of weeks, I can't lie that it feels kinda weird."

After the unexpected encounter with Naofumi and Raphtalia, they all decided to catch up with one another to see how the other was doing so far, returning to the inn. He was still trying to wrap his head around the entire notion that levels influence the growth of demi-humans. On paper, it didn't sound absurd, but experiencing the phenomenon before his eyes was another factor all together.

There were a few onlookers that were passing through the inn, whether it was staff or other guests, but considering what he was told about demi-humans, the people of Riyute Village didn't seem to mind Raphtalia, casually sitting there. If anything, he felt like they were looking more at him, curious as to who he was. He would glance back at them before they conveniently scurried off to finish whatever task they had on hand.

Despite being a table of four, only Itsuki and Raphtalia had been seated. Naofumi was elsewhere and had been for a few moments, but he still had a good guess as to where he ran off to, especially when Itsuki offhandedly mentioned that he hadn't eaten a good breakfast this morning. Raphtalia and Naofumi hadn't eaten either and were trying to get their hands on ingredients for their own breakfast.

That left Itsuki and Raphtalia to talk with one another for a bit.

"So how's everything been going? Naofumi's been treating you well, I take it?"

"Yes, I couldn't have asked for anyone else. When you and Master Naofumi both came into the slave trader, I thought I was going to suffer even more like my previous master, but I was happy to be wrong. He makes me yummy food, makes sure that I'm not pushing myself too much, and my coughing has basically disappeared thanks to his medicine."

"Oh?" Itsuki brightened up when he heard that last part. "Naofumi can make medicine now? I should probably ask him to make some for me! We've been running out because we recently ran into a terrible situation that nearly got us dead. It was almost a miracle that we survived."

"W-What happened!?"

He still had a sour taste about what happened at Rabier's manor and he promised to himself that the next time that they met, Rabier would have been dealt with, but he was now, he was in no condition to be able to run it back to that man.

"Stupid things with a stupid noble," he said with every cell spiting his existence. His hand unconsciously tightened into a fist and slammed on the table lightly. "We were staying with that guy in order to investigate sightings of wave monsters that had been still lingering around, but he pulled the trigger when I discovered that he was keeping demi-humans slaves. After I saw them for myself, I wanted to confront him, but it got reversed on us, so we had to run."

Itsuki mulled over the memory of yesterday, stepping over everything that Rabier had said to them.

Through his sudden anger of his slave-keeping, he never had time to think it over and consult Kojeel about it, but if what he said was the truth, the implications hadn't been so bright for them, especially for Ren.

He was much too concerned about his apparent execution which they didn't have much to go off from.

Meanwhile, Raphtalia had been looking at Itsuki as if there was something on his face, but he didn't notice through his internal grumbling. Her face was a bit pale, stemming from the mere description of a fat noble who kept demi-human slaves.

"Mister Itsuki? I have a question."

Itsuki leered upwards. "Hmm? What is it?"

She wanted to ask out of curiosity, so after taking a deep breath and settling her heart, she opened up.

"Was that noble's name Rab—?"

"Alright, the food's all done!"

However, Naofumi had spectacular timing, coming in from the inn's kitchen with a platter of three bowls. Itsuki didn't manage to catch the first syllable of Raphtalia's predicted name as he turned around to see steam sailing from their breakfast. Even from a distance, the scent was strong and familiar to him, making him regret ever taking Naofumi's cooking for granted back home.

Naofumi placed down the two bowls, each with a set of chopsticks and a spoon, in front of him and Raphtalia, in which she had the same astounded expression, but for all the different reasons. She had never seen something like before, though still practically drooling over the delicious aroma. The noodles had been strangely submerged in a somewhat darkened liquid with vegetables, meat, and eggs to the side either sitting on the surface or against the edge of the bowl.

On the other hand, Itsuki knew immediately what this had been.

"Oh, I never thought I'd see ramen like this again!"

"I remembered seeing something like this back in the capital and the inn here sold something similar, more or less," Naofumi said as he settled himself down next to Raphtalia. "It wasn't exactly the same thing, so I used the same concept and tweaked it a bit to be able reproduce the flavor here. It was a bit tough, trying to get the right combination of ingredients, but I'd like to think it worked out in the end. I made sure to make yours a bit spicy and sour, just like how you usually like it."

"Raphtalia's really lucky that she usually gets all of this to herself!" He glanced up from the ramen. "You better enjoy Naofumi's cooking whenever he makes it, you hear?"

"Don't worry," she smiled. "I will!"

As Itsuki clapped his hands together, giving thanks for the meal alongside Naofumi, Raphtalia noticed that it had been the first time Naofumi did such a gesture here. She quickly imitated the heroes before they started eating.

Raphtalia thought it was great, though she had to eat it slowly due to the heat.

"Oh man!" Itsuki basically had stars ingrained in his eyes on the other side of the table. "If they knew, Motoyasu and Ren would be rolling around in their envy! I never thought ramen could taste so good!"

Naofumi chuckled. "Glad you liked it, Itsuki. Make sure there's nothing left."

Although Itsuki looked like he was the most proper and polite one out of the group, watching the scene of Itsuki slurping down his breakfast would make anyone think that he had no manners. By the time Raphtalia and Naofumi ate up a quarter collectively, Itsuki was already half done and he was still enjoying every bite.

Hearing the commotion, Welst had come down from his room to see Itsuki in his current state.

"H-Huh…? Sir Itsuki?" he yawned. His eyes were half closed, only being able to lay down peacefully for a few minutes. "You're already back? I thought it would have taken you longer than that."

However, the smell of the food immediately caused his eyes to open wide up. It was less of an innate instinct and more of a roaming curiosity as he calmly walked over to the table.

"Huh, what's that?"

"It's called ramen," Naofumi answered in Itsuki's steed whose mouth was filled at the moment. "You're someone from Itsuki's party, right? It slipped my mind to make portions for you and the others on Itsuki's party, so I'll have to apologize."

"No, that's fine," he said, holding his hand up. "I'm not that hungry anyways, especially if the Shield Hero has to get up and make me food. Something about having a Cardinal Hero as a personal chef doesn't sit right with me."

"Oh, you know me?"

Welst scrunched his eyebrows, slightly offended with an exasperated grunt. "Sir Shield Hero, with all due respect, I was in the _same_ room when the party members were distributed and during your trial."

Naofumi flinched at the casual tone that Itsuki's party members had. He was more expecting something of an outrage that Itsuki was eating at the same table as a criminal, but Welst had continued his thoughts, seeing the surprised expression covering the hero.

"Look, I'm not that dumb to think that you didn't actually commit the crime. I'd actually say that a decent percentage of people don't think you actually did it, but they will stay quiet because of the influence that the Church of Three Heroes have."

Welst came over to Itsuki's side, taking the free seat, but Itsuki stopped his intake and gulped down whatever was in his mouth quickly to speak.

"W-Wait, so you knew the entire time that the result was ridiculous?"

"Yeah, but there wasn't any point in saying anything about it," he said, leaning an elbow onto the table. "I'm just an adventurer with no ties to politics. There's literally nothing I could have done if that was the king's final verdict, so it's better to shut up. To be honest, the king probably gave you that sentence in order to prevent backlash from the Church since it was cut so short, but people will be people and assume what's on the surface."

Naofumi blinked at Welst's deduction.

"I never thought about it like that…"

"Well, you never know what the Church might do, both the main branch and the extremists."

Welst took one glance at Naofumi and another at the door, before leering over to Itsuki.

"In any case, we should _probably_ distract Mald long enough for him to not realize that you're here."

Raphtalia tilted her head. "Is this Mald person another one of your party members?"

"Yeah," Welst nodded, "and he's not going to take too kindly to the Shield Hero and… Oh, you're a demi-human?" Welst took his first good look at Raphtalia and noticed the twitching ears on her head, but quickly responded with a sour slump on the table. "And with _that_, you just made the encounter with Mald all so more important to avoid!"

Raphtalia jolted up in surprise. "I-I'm sorry?"

Itsuki took a sip of the broth while realizing that Welst had validity in his concerns, but he thought the straightforward method was a bit rude to Naofumi. After all, it seemed like they had been stationed at Riyute Village for some time and he couldn't simply tell them to leave due to Mald's bad attitude.

However, Naofumi spoke up before Itsuki could.

"Ah, well. I can't really do that," he said. "I've been lending a hand to this village when they asked me to watch over the miners. Though, today should be the last day that I'll be here."

"Watch over the miners…?" Itsuki widened his eyes, darting between the duo. "Wait, were you two those apparent adventurers that helped solve that mineshaft problem?"

"Yes, we were," Raphtalia nodded. "It was a bit difficult, but we ended up killing the monster that was stopping the people of Riyute Village from entering. There are still a few more unnatural monsters in there, but none too dangerous if there are people prepared to fight against them and that's what we've been hired to do."

"The miners are probably grabbing as much as they can before the Shield Hero has to inevitably leave to go elsewhere," Welst deduced. "Until then, it looks like the Shield Hero has been offering himself as a personal bodyguard."

"After breakfast, we were going to meet up with the miners at the entrance," Naofumi followed up. "I hope we won't be in the way much of that party member since we'll be there for about half of the day."

"Ah, maybe Mister Itsuki should come with us!" Raphtalia said, clapping her hands at the idea. "It would be helpful if there were more people with us!"

"But I don't want to be bothering Itsuki if he had stuff to do…"

"Don't worry, I'll help you out," Itsuki answered. "The things that are important for me right now is debriefing with my party members. If Kojeel and Mald are busy right now, I might as well do something in order to help out the people here."

Itsuki glanced over to the mage.

"Want to come with us, Welst?"

"I got nothing better else to do, so sure. Why not?" he shrugged. "Though, I do need to stop by that weapons shop to get me a new staff for casting magic effectively." He stood up from his seat and promptly headed to the door. "I'll meet up with everyone at the entrance then. I'm assuming the backside since that's the direction to the Riyute Mines? We passed by some of them on our way to the inn."

With a nod from Naofumi, Welst left the inn, leaving the others to finish up their meals. Through the conversation, Itsuki had already been practically finished with his ramen whereas Naofumi and Raphtalia hadn't eaten half yet. He slumped back in his chair with a full and satisfied stomach, moaning a noise of relaxation.

Naofumi was expecting Itsuki to stand up and head off to prepare himself for the day, but he was certainly surprised when a grim expression suddenly overtook him. His fingers had been tightly held to one another on his lap and his sights were locked on a downward angle. He was concerned that the meal wasn't to the usual standard, but Itsuki had already expressed his enjoyment.

Then what was it?

"... Naofumi, we need to have a talk." His voice could have sliced the air. "I was planning to talk to you after breakfast, but if you need to help out the miners, then we'll talk as we go."

"A talk? About what?"

Itsuki's eyes slowly panned up.

"It's about Ren. I think he's in some serious trouble right now."

* * *

**)**—**(\**IV**| Chapter 1-25 |**IV**/)|**—**(  
)\\( Sin of Justice )/(**

* * *

As Naofumi and Raphtalia met up with the miners with Itsuki and Welst alongside them, he made introductions to the new 'adventurers' that would help them out for no further cost. That latter part made it easier for them to ease into the team as the miners didn't have anything to complain about having more people protecting them.

Itsuki noticed that Raphtalia's choice of weapon had been the sword, but she always kept a dagger sheathed on her, probably in case of emergencies.

They went off to the mineshaft where the area had looked much more better than when Naofumi had first arrived. The buildings were still in rough shape, but all of the fallen minecarts had been cleaned up and the interiors had been reorganized properly. A portion of the first day had been dedicated to this, having a better workplace for better efficacy.

As Naofumi led the way for the miners deeper into the mountain, the rest of the combined squad had trailed close behind him. He had been informed which area had been the focus for today and had the torch in his hands, changing shields in order to increase its effectiveness. Raphtalia had the map, directing him where to turn.

A few monsters had blocked the path, but the grounded enemies had been easy for Raphtalia. After fighting them enough times, she had grown accustomed to their attacks and was able to coordinate with Naofumi to fend them off effectively. It was the bats that they had some trouble with, but having Itsuki and Welst, both ranged fighters, helped significantly on those ends.

They came to another clearing, brightened by the reflecting ores, that he couldn't recognize, but there was a river flowing to the side with rushing speeds. It didn't look strong enough to overtake a person, but if they had fallen in by accident, it could have led into trouble.

As the miners went off to do their work, Naofumi sat down with Raphtalia taking her place next to him. Their posture signaled that they were ready to get back up on their feet at any moment. Itsuki, on the other hand, took his seat on a nearby rock as Welst remained to be standing.

Itsuki had gone off after saying that he wanted to talk about Ren, but Naofumi had been too shocked to ask him for any further details or what he meant by the fact that Ren was in serious trouble, but somewhere inside, he already knew. Considering the state Ren was in when he ran from the capital, there was little to his imagination that could have happened.

"He got arrested, didn't he?"

Naofumi wanted to get it out of the way, first and foremost. He wanted Itsuki to laugh it off, but his seriousness in the tone wasn't so easily shaken off.

"So the news had already spread out over here."

Naofumi didn't know if he should tell Itsuki that it hadn't been his assumption, but as he thought about telling him about his departure on Ren, the attempts wouldn't come out of his throat, even if he tried yanking them out. They were stuck, almost making it hard to breathe.

"How much of it is known to the public?"

"We… don't know," Raphtalia answered instead. "We didn't hear about it, but considering how he was fending off that knight so that we could escape the capital…"

Itsuki widened his eyes. "W-What…? You sounded like you two were there when Ren was captured or something."

She went on to confirm Itsuki's concern, explaining how they tried to help Ren out of the capital, evading capture from the knights, merely for them to fail in the end. In the end, the only result they managed to win themselves for certainty was further incrimination of the Shield Hero.

He wouldn't have doubted that Ren had told them to leave him behind to deal with the mess; it seemed all too fitting, yet he couldn't bring himself to that conclusion.

"So you just left him there!?"

His scream pulled the attention of the miners, but Raphtalia quickly left the conversation in order to reassure them that everything was fine. They were slightly uneasy, but her attractive appearance and attitude was enough to let them ignore the outburst superficially.

"I-I didn't know what else to do…" Naofumi mumbled as his body quivered, just thinking about that day. He glanced away from Itsuki out of shame."If the fight went on, we both would have been captured and besides, Ren didn't want me there anymore. I got in his way and I couldn't do anything there."

"But if it was a losing fight, the Sword Hero still had the right idea," Welst comforted. "It was better for you to escape with your slave rather than to have everyone go down at that moment."

"No, that's not it!" Naofumi pleaded. "If I had known what I should have been doing, I could have helped Ren out there! I could have protected him properly!"

"I can imagine that Ren was really angry at you," Itsuki said, causing Naofumi to nod. Upon seeing it, Itsuki made a weak smile. "You know, he was never the type of person to be able to express himself properly. Do you remember what Ren was mad at you for?"

Naofumi returned his gaze to his friend, trying to shift through the clouded memories. "He said… I was functionally useless to him. It definitely hurts, especially if it was coming from him, but he was right. My contributions only slowed Ren down and—"

"That's not all he said, I know that for sure," Itsuki interrupted, disapproving the answer. "Think about the first time he lashed out, after the trial ended and we met up with you. Do you remember why he was mad at _that _time?"

"It was… because I told you two to not pursue my case. Something about me not taking it seriously."

"He was angry for your own benefit, Naofumi. It was his rant that got in your head, causing you to end up buying Raphtalia, right?"

They looked over to the demi-human who had been acting as the barrier from the workers before she dismissed herself to come back to Naofumi's side. She was a bit confused why the heroes had their eyes on her when she sat down and was about to ask if there was something on her face, but Itsuki continued beforehand.

"He knew you were going to end up hurting yourself, whether you knew it or not, in the long run. Ren just has a weird way of showing that he cares about people." Itsuki had a quiet laugh for himself. "You get used to it after spending enough time with him."

"Then what about Motoyasu? It seemed like he was really mad at him as well."

Itsuki wryly groaned while awkwardly averting eye contact. "_Uhm_, that's a totally different topic altogether. Ren _does_ care for Motoyasu to an extent, but I think there are some... _choice_ words that he would want to get out of the way first and foremost."

With Naofumi slightly cheering up from Itsuki's comment, the attention was returned.

"Look, I'm sure Ren was yelling at you for a different reason this time and it wasn't to hurt your feelings."

Ren's words, as if they were echoing through the cavern, were embedded in his mind.

"_Stop worrying about me. It's honestly annoying. For a change, how about you start worrying about yourself? I'm not telling you to be entirely selfish, but you could stand to become a bit more self-aware."_

Naofumi could only wince in that reflection, remembering how he was intending to give himself up in order for Raphtalia to escape from the dog monster. If he truly did die there, he would have failed in Ren's request for himself. Raphtalia even told him that she herself didn't want him to die. Even though he still considered their victory as a miracle, he wasn't sure if that was what Ren wanted for Naofumi.

What exactly did it mean to be 'self-aware'? How would he go about doing it?

He felt like he had the answer, but it had been constantly escaping his tongue.

"Anyways, that wasn't what I was intending to talk about," Itsuki said, shaking his hand out. "So yeah, Ren did get arrested from what I heard. One of my party members, Kojeel, was a knight in disguise of an adventurer and she was alerted about the arrest as well."

"I can only hope that Ren got off with a punishment similar to mine. Being the Sword Hero who can attack, I would imagine he would be in a better seat than me, but I'm not sure thanks to all the commotion we managed to stir up in the capital."

Welst hummed in the agony of seeing one's ignorance, but it couldn't have been helped if it wasn't common news yet. "If that was the case, we wouldn't even be talking about the Sword Hero, but Sir Itsuki and I heard some troubling news from the noble we were staying with before."

Welst watched Itsuki to see if there were any cues to stop talking about the incident at Rabier's, either if Naofumi had already been informed already or he didn't want for him to know for whatever reason, but without any cutoffs, Welst went ahead and explained what happened to them yesterday night. He kept the story straight on the point, but much to Raphtalia's curiosity, he never revealed who the noble was by name.

"That's when we heard from him that the Sword Hero was getting executed for his crimes."

"S-Seriously!? That can't be real!"

Naofumi's outburst had drawn the miners' attention again for the second round, but they tried not to let it bother them as the first time around. His shock managed to kick him back up on his feet though, holding his head in grief.

"How… How could they just decide to do something like that? The king said that they couldn't punish me properly because I was a hero. What's with the drastic change in rules here!?"

"Honestly, I'm not too sure what the game is here," Itsuki said, biting his thumb. "The logic doesn't make any sense. If Melromarc has influence of the Church of Three Heroes, you would think that the Shield Hero would be the one on the executioner's calling, not one of the gods that the Church praises."

"Hey, we still need that confirmation from Kojeel, but I don't think those words were meant to be a parting gift," Welst added. "It felt like a final bag of salt being rubbed into the wound before we were suppose to die."

Itsuki clicked his tongue. "Either way, I won't stand for this. I don't understand what type of justice system would allow for these types of things to happen to us. Weren't we supposed to be helping save everyone in this world from the waves of destruction? How the hell are we supposed to do that if the capital keeps arresting us?"

"What are you planning on doing then, Itsuki?"

Itsuki paused for a moment. "I'm… not too sure myself, but I want to head to the capital to see someone first and foremost. I don't know why the situation played out the way that it did, but beside the noble and his connection to the Church of Three Heroes, we also had a name to go by, the person that had links to the attack on us."

"Aldrecht, the Lord of Calamity himself," Welst answered, almost disappointed by it. The image of the old man had flashed in Naofumi's head. "How could a man, highly regarded by us mages and other scholars, stoop so low to go against the Cardinal Heroes like so?"

"We have no other leads here and besides, Ren thought about Naofumi's situation before and he concluded that it was either the Church or Aldrecht that was in charge here. Never once did he guess them to be working together, but that could also be the case while Ren was receiving red herrings the entire time."

Itsuki held onto his bow tightly.

"But no matter what, I can't let Ren die like this."

Seeing Itsuki's resolve like this, Naofumi found it to be a little too bright for him. Even after running away, here he was, minding his own business at Riyute Village for the past few days even though he was one of the reasons Ren got captured in the first place. Of course, that would have left a bitter taste on his tongue but he had no one else to blame except himself.

"You'll have to talk with Kojeel about this in depth," Welst suggested. "She'll probably be able to offer more options to you, being a knight and our ally at the same time. At least, I hope she's our ally. Aldrecht does have good influence on the Melromarcian Knights, due to his close relation to the king and queen."

"Then we'll have to leave that for later."

Naofumi stayed silent, circling the thought of Ren's execution in his mind. He hated that thought that it was his actions that directly led into that event's occurrence and to some degree, he felt obligated to fix things here.

"After we're done here, I want to come with you, Itsuki."

"That's what I originally wanted to talk to you for," Itsuki answered, "but given your circumstances, I don't think your presence is going to make things any better. I didn't know that you were there when Ren was arrested. The moment you return to the capital, the knights will probably be all over your head."

Naofumi's eyes slumped down towards the ground, unable to argue. It was true that he could have made more problems for his friend, just by being there.

"T-That's…"

"Hey, Naofumi!"

One of the miners shouted the hero's name, causing the group to look over towards the river, where the voice had originated from. The man was relatively muscular, holding his pickaxe over his shoulder while he, alongside a second and third person, had been glancing out to the water.

"I think you might want to check this out."

Naofumi ran over alongside the others and caught up with the scene that they were seeing. He flinched at first, not knowing what it was that he saw despite properly being able to register it in his mind. There was a monster body against the rushing water, just hovering a small portion of its black pelt above the surface.

As Naofumi squinted his eyes to get a better read on it, Raphtalia noticed what it was almost immediately.

"Master Naofumi, that's… that's the monster we fought the other day! The two-headed dog monster!"

"So you really did kill that thing," the miner said, pleasantly surprised. "I'll be honest, I thought you were pulling our leg, especially when you didn't exactly bring back the evidence that it died."

"I don't think there's any reason to be frightened of it and everyone should go back to their jobs, but…" Naofumi thought about the monster, humming a bit. "It's a unique monster that I haven't encountered before. I think we should pull it out for the sake of… collection's sake."

Naofumi knew about his infamy, so he never really told anyone that he was the Shield Hero here, just another adventurer. His lying ability still wasn't good, but it was made up by what truth the villagers assumed about him and even now, the miner was truly lax about Naofumi's odd desire for the monster.

"Well, you're free to take it. We just wanted to have you check it out, just in case if it was a monster waiting to pounce on us. We'll call you when there's another problem."

As the miner left, Naofumi had covertly changed his shield to the [Rope Shield] and activated one of its other abilities, one that had less combat performance and more utility. It had the ability to shoot out a rope at his target and wrapped itself around it for teetering, pulling and other niche activities.

He aimed the shield at the monster and caught it in the rope, pulling it back slowly like it was a fish from a pond. A very large, dead fish with legs and fur.

He backed up to drag it up from the current, dropping the drenched corpse onto the cavern floor. Seeing the wounds and punctured skin, he became very certain that this was the monster that Raphtalia managed to defeat, but the body had definitely deteriorated over time.

Raphtalia took out a black dagger and started cutting up the pieces for Naofumi. It was a bit brutal and Itsuki saw that Raphtalia had to stop a few times to get a hold herself, but she looked like she wanted to persist for some reason. After it was all finished up, Raphtalia took another second to take deep breaths.

"Don't like dead bodies?" Welst asked.

"It's the blood more than the body. Most of it is washed up now, but there's still some left. I used to freeze up in its sight," Raphtalia said, "but I'm starting to get better…"

She offered Naofumi to absorb one of the pieces, having him unlock a new shield.

**[Two-Headed Black Dog Shield] 0/45 UC  
(Equip Bonus) : Alert Shield  
(Special Effect) : Dog Bite Counter  
(Mastery Level) : 0  
(Item Enhancement) : LV0**

"Huh, this is a new one."

Covertly switching over to the new shield, it was a bit frightening, replicating the monster's two heads on its surface instead of a solid surface that the shield had. It was as if someone had placed the animal trophies, usually reserved over fireplaces, onto the armament instead.

"It looks like [Alert Shield] tells me if there's any monsters around the area and [Dog Bite Counter] is a skill I can activate if someone is attacking me."

Switching back to a normal shield, Raphtalia had handed Itsuki another piece of the monster.

"Mister Itsuki, please take one. There's more than enough for you to unlock a weapon for yourself."

Itsuki nodded and took the monster piece close for his bow to absorb, thanking her in the process. The bow did take the material in. A notification would usually pop up, alerting him that a new weapon was unlocked, but he didn't receive any of the such this time around which didn't make sense, considering how Naofumi just unlocked his.

He tilted his head at the weapon, slightly confused.

"Hey, the bow didn't give me a new form for use here."

"Huh? Really?" Naofumi said. "Try another piece."

Raphtalia grabbed one more and had Itsuki absorb it like normal, but once again, it didn't happen. If anything, he went to check his inventory to see if there was a reason for that. He was relatively surprised to see that the bow had been rejecting it from the weapons and simply added it to that stash alongside all the other materials.

"Yeah, I'm not getting anything from this."

"Maybe not all monsters give out weapon forms for every hero?" Raphtalia guessed.

"That seems a bit unfair and dumb," Itsuki grumbled. He honestly thought that the [Two-Headed Black Dog Shield] looked cool and wanted to see how it would have looked on his bow, but if the system was going to be finicky like this, he had no other choice except for succumbing to its odd rules.

He wondered if any other weapons had that rule and he simply didn't notice it.

He never really glanced through his entire list of weapons, for there were too many to keep track at once, but as he scrolled through all of them, he started to see some unusual weapons that he had never remembered getting before. Of course, it was obvious that he wouldn't be able to remember each and every one, but his jaw dropped when he came to a particular weapon.

It was the [Two-Headed Black Dog Bow].

He had it already unlocked somehow.

"... Huh?"

**[Two-Headed Black Dog Bow] 0/35 UC  
(Equip Bonus) : Alert Bow  
(Special Effect) : Dog Bite Arrow  
(Mastery Level) : 0  
(Item Enhancement) : LV0**

"Oh, so it did go in properly!"

Naofumi cheered as he saw Itsuki's bow transformed in a form with a black pelted frame and two smaller dog heads around where the arrow was launched out. However, Itsuki was less astounded by it despite his interest in having a version for himself.

"What's wrong, Itsuki?"

"It looks like the reason why the material wouldn't unlock the bow was that I _already _had it unlocked."

Raphtalia gasped. "You fought one already?"

He shook his head. "You would think that, but I haven't even seen anything with two heads in this world yet aside from this moment."

Welst nodded, rubbing his chin. "Yeah, this is my first time seeing a monster like that in my life. There's no way we encountered something like that in our journey so far."

"That's… weird…" Naofumi rubbed his chin, trying to come up with a guess at it. "Maybe… it glitched out and forgot to show you the notification box? I don't think there's a feature where it tells you _when_ you unlocked it, so you could have recently unlocked it now."

Itsuki mused about the idea, but there wasn't any other explanation to it that he could think of.

He remembered how on the first day that they were there, he had opened up the status magic in order to check the rule on their inability to party together. That was when Itsuki noticed that the text had been jumbled up, but he quickly saw that it returned back to return, making him doubt that he even saw it in the first place.

It wasn't as if there were any bug report systems in place for some development team to fix here. He imagined that the Status Magic wasn't something that could be touched upon so easily.

"I guess it's nothing worth troubling my mind about," Itsuki grumbled, changing his bow back to a normal steel frame. In the meanwhile, Naofumi had stuffed the rest of the monster into his inventory. "I still have better things to worry here like seeing what I can do for Ren here."

"Well, it looks like it's going to be an easy day for us," Raphtalia said. "Monsters haven't been appearing like the last few days, not that there were many attacking us to begin with."

"What about a short snack while the miners are finishing up their job?" Naofumi suggested, seeing the workers starting to fill up the minecarts.

"_No_, I'm not eating the dog like that," Itsuki said monotonously.

"T-That's not what I was saying!" Naofumi exclaimed, slightly flustered. Out of his inventory, he started taking out a paper bag that was filled with a fresh bakery scent. "I-I bought some pastries at the local shop and I just wanted to see if you wanted some."

"Yeah, I guess that's a much better treat," Itsuki said, breaking into a subtle laugh. That's when Naofumi realized that his prior comment was merely a joke and he tilted the bag to his friend. "Thanks, Naofumi."

After handing everyone their own bun, they kept watch for about another hour before the miners had gotten what they needed. They were thanked and they headed off back to the village once everyone had made it out safely.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

Upon entering the inn, Itsuki noticed that Kojeel had been sitting down in silence. She had changed her outfit to be more suited as a knight figure, most likely having no further intentions of hiding her identity once it was exposed. Even her spear had been different, looking more high quality than what she was using before.

When he and Welst stepped in, the chimes at the door rang, prompting Kojeel to glance over to the entrance before she stood up from the table and came over. She looked like she wanted to be on track first, but she saw who had been accompanying them.

"So the Shield Hero is here as well?"

Kojeel asked rhetorically. Naofumi paled, realizing who she was from the emblem on her armour while Raphtalia was ready to fight for him, but before Itsuki could clear anything up, Kojeel raised her two hands.

"Fear not," she calmly responded. "I may have orders to bring you back to the capital if encountered, but the circumstances surrounding the Bow Hero is my current priority. I'll overlook your presence for now, not that I have any other reasonable option."

Itsuki sighed a breath of relief.

"So you're the incognito knight that Welst was talking about?" Naofumi asked. He extended his hand outwards, believing she was expressing the truth. "It's nice to meet you. My name's Naofumi."

Instead of taking his hand, Kojeel bowed. "I am Dame Kojeel, a high knight of Melromarc's forces. Under normal terms, I would be glad to be of your assistance if asked."

Naofumi awkwardly pulled his hand back, seeing that Kojeel had no intention to shake his hand. Though, he told himself it was more about the chivalry rather than any personal attacks or grudges to him.

"Anyways," Itsuki said, causing Kojeel to release her posture, "have you found out anything else about Ren's situation? You still need to tell us about what's going on here."

"Please come with me then. I would rather that we talk inside a private room than out in an open lobby."

Itsuki looked over to Naofumi to see if he wanted to come along, but he was rather silent in his response. He seemed like he wanted to come into the meeting, but considering the nature of it, there was a part of Naofumi that didn't want to intrude.

"You could always tell me what happened later tonight," Naofumi said, shrugging. "I need to get sorted out to leave tomorrow morning. I have to leave as soon as possible, right?"

Raphtalia nodded. "Yes, I remember that our travel supplies were running low before we entered Riyute and we haven't had the chance to restock yet."

Itsuki could guess that Naofumi was pushing away his curiosity for now, but it wasn't as if this was his last chance to hear about. Agreeing to Kojeel's terms, Itsuki and Welst left the lobby up to a separate room reserved on the third floor, being reserved for the hero. The room itself hadn't been anything special, just like most of the other inns, but Itsuki could feel his muscles tensing up as Welst closed the door behind them.

Something about the situation made him want to look away, now that he had the opportunity to look at the truth. As much as he wanted to do something to help out Ren if it was true, he didn't understand his own dissuasive mind.

As Welst took a seat on the bed, Kojeel turned around to face Itsuki with a clear sight. Her eyes had been much more focused and sharp than Itsuki had remembered, but it might have been her new—rather he should say old—outfit adding to that effect.

"So what did you find out, Kojeel?" Welst had been the one to ask, noting that the first few seconds had been quiet for some reason. "Hopefully some news that we misheard Lord Rabier. I haven't met the Sword Hero yet, but doesn't seem like a bad person enough to warrant an execution."

"Unfortunately, I have not," Kojeel said, shaking her head. She crossed her arms, as if unimpressed by herself. "I could not make any contact with the kingdom. Typically, there would have been someone to be able to take my report with my written concerns, but no one had shown up this time."

"It sounds like somebody is slacking on their job," Welst said, whistling the other way.

"If it was a normal messenger, I'd be obligated to agree. However, these people are paid by the kingdom and are expected to be diligent in their work. I have seen nothing except for that same diligence ever since I became a knight," Kojeel sighed heavily. "It means that there is another issue at hand, but I don't know much about it to make a sensible guess."

"So you can't contact the king or anyone in the capital to confirm if Ren is getting executed here?" Itsuki asked. "Isn't there any other option?"

"In accordance with the capital, Riyute Village is not very far away. On horseback, it's likely to take less than a day to reach it. I plan to leave tomorrow morning to give my direct messages."

Itsuki nodded. "Then we should make our own preparations right away so that—"

"Perhaps you misheard me, Sir Itsuki." Her voice had been firm, unrelenting in its coldness. "I am leaving by myself and entrusting both Welst and Mald to protect you while I'm gone, alongside some of the guardsmen here. It's something I rather not want to do, but given the circumstances, I must make such decision."

"Wait, you're just leaving us here!?" Itsuki felt enraged, taking a step forward with clenched fists. "No way! I need to find out Ren's situation for myself too!"

Kojeel grunted unamusingly, closing her eyes and turning her head slightly away. "That's unnecessary and more importantly, it's an unneeded risk." Itsuki flinched at her explanation, but before he could inquire more, she continued anyways. "The ones that attacked us at Lord Rabier's manor had been the Holy Knights, correct? If their intentions were true to eliminate the Bow Hero, I cannot risk bringing you closer to their main base of operations, especially if what you heard about the Sword Hero was truthful."

"Yeah, I think I have to agree with Kojeel here," Welst added on, removing his shoes and crossing his legs on the bed. "Besides, those knights don't know our location yet. As far as they know, we must have rushed over to the closest village instead of heading over to Riyute Village thanks to Kojeel's recommendation. We have some time to spend here and I don't think Kojeel would waste any of hers."

"That's ridiculous!" he stomped heavily. "I'm not going to just stay put here while Ren is potentially facing his death here! And I need to have a few choice words with Aldrecht while I'm in the capital!"

Kojeel shook her head with such a dismissive tone. "Honestly, with what happened with Lord Rabier, I felt obligated to leave you behind. Did you not rush in to confront Lord Rabier after discovering that he had slaves?"

"That's because what he was doing was wrong!"

"And for that," Kojeel said, walking around him until she was behind, "I fear that you would do the same thing."

Itsuki clicked his tongue, feeling the heat reaching his head. "How else am I supposed to execute justice without confronting them!? If I don't deal with the problem at its core, then it's as good as nothing! I could have tried to free them back at the manor, but then Rabier would have simply bought more! I had to stop him, then and there!"

"And so _what_?" Itsuki turned around to see Kojeel, for the first time, having such an annoyed expression. It honestly frightened him slightly, but Welst seemed much more taken aback from the new face. "If the Sword Hero is determined to be executed soon, who will you stop? The king that made the final decision? And if you find out that Aldrecht had been orchestrating that attack on you, what would you do? Have the king's advisor be arrested?"

He knew that they were big figures in the country, but if evil lurked in their hearts, he had to find a way to stop. Justice didn't care about the status of a person, but it cares about their evil wrongdoings and seeks to correct that. Heroes of justice fought to protect that ideal and that's what Itsuki believed from when he learned what it was.

Their world was cursed to never have this ideal sense of justice where evil was allowed to harm with no repercussions. It didn't matter how much they hurt others, they never got what had been coming to them and that always frustrated him. That's why he wanted to pursue that ideology, to make sure that evil was judged correctly and punishment was appropriately executed.

"Then I'll expose the king and Aldrecht for his crimes," he said sternly. "Have the people revolt against them. If their crimes are shown to everyone, then it'll be hard to deny them, right?"

And yet, he didn't realize the hypocrisy of it.

If Ren truly committed a crime, he would have been under that radar of justice, but Itsuki kept looking the other way. He kept excusing his friend out of that spotlight, blaming others for the apparent injustice dealt against him, just as he did for Naofumi's case. He never thought about turning the gun onto his friends' heads and he would continue to never think about it.

"That simply strengthens my response to not let you leave the village, Sir Itsuki." Kojeel felt like she was hitting a brick wall and intended to end the conversation without rebuttal, so she reached for the door. "I don't know how it works in your world, but that isn't how things work here. We knights have our own justice to uphold here."

She turned her head away.

"Hold on! I'm not done yet!"

Itsuki moved towards her, about to grab her hand to stop her, but he was surprised when Welst had stood up and grabbed the extending arm to stop him. Welst had shook his head, telling Itsuki silently to not pursue the problem any further. He knew that despite any loud howling, Kojeel won't budge.

As the door closed, prompting Kojeel's departure, Itsuki had yanked himself out from Welst's grip.

"Why did you stop me!?" he growled. "I could have convinced her!"

Welst's hand slightly hurt from the sudden movement, shaking it a bit on his side without addressing the inconvenient pain. "Listen, I'm only trying to look out for you, Sir Itsuki. Keeping you in Riyute Village for now sounds like the better idea here."

"And you expect me to simply forget what we heard at Rabier's manor?"

"And you simply believe that the citizens will trust your words over the king and his advisor?" Itsuki staggered slightly from Welst's question. "I'm not a politics guy, but I do know that the Wise Sage King and the Lord of Calamity are both heroes trusted by them due to their contributions to the Siltvelt War. Furthermore with the guidance of this country's peace for many years. They won't ever believe the words of a Bow Hero, who hasn't even been here for a month, over them."

Itsuki gritted his teeth, unable to say a single thing about that harsh truth.

"You accuse them of something evil and it will most likely backfire. The people won't revolt and they'll see you as someone crazy. Maybe even a criminal as well."

"How would I be the criminal here!?" Itsuki stiffened at the hypothesis and took it as the conclusion. He pounded his chest and raised his voice even louder. "I'm trying to bring justice for everyone here! That's what my job is as a Cardinal Hero!"

Welst had stepped back from the burst of volume, but he found his footing quickly. He felt a bit awkward staring at the enraged Itsuki in his eyes, so he glanced somewhere else in the room, closing his eyes. He was trying to find the right words to get the Bow Hero to think a bit more rationally.

"Sir Itsuki? What is 'justice'?"

Itsuki frowned at the odd question. "What do you mean by that? Justice is when evil is punished! It's not a difficult concept!"

From games and books, this was what he learnt about that ideology. Granted, some of them had implications that justice must be done in secret, but that additional detail was something only on a backshelf.

"Then how do you define 'evil'?"

Itsuki was rather baffled, raising his eyebrow. "W-What are you trying to get at here, Welst?"

"Please answer the question, Sir Itsuki."

He stammered, trying to collect up what he defined as evil. It was something he definitely knew when he saw it, but it was much difficult to place the act into words, especially if the question came out of nowhere.

"Y-You just know it when you see it! Alright?"

"That's a pretty vague response, but I can't say that you're wrong. I get inexplicable gut feelings sometimes," Welst said in a low tone. There was some form of disappointment in his voice, but it felt like there was some type of understanding tacked onto it. "Though, I don't think Kojeel's own sense of justice is necessarily wrong either. She has her own duties to uphold here and her own code of conduct when it boils down to it."

Itsuki didn't understand what Welst was rambling on about, but Welst sighed deeply, putting up his hood and looked to exit the room.

"Maybe it's better if you sleep on it, Sir Itsuki," he said, still looking over at the docile-increasing hero. "I'm sure there's more you can do than take up the path, one equivalent of a criminal. Kojeel looks like an early-bird, so if you manage to figure out what you can do before then, I won't intrude on that moment."

"_Own sense of justice, huh?_"

Welst groaned rather heavily, scratching his head. "L-Look, the mood is getting _way _too dreary for me to be able to be here. I still need to find that idiot Mald and tell him of what's happening here. I enjoy your company, but I really don't want all the responsibilities to drop onto my lap."

Itsuki made a rather quiet chuckle, cheering up a bit.

"I thought you would have let him do what he wanted."

Holding onto the door, he hummed for his reply.

"Well, yeah, but after our escape from the manor, I guess…" Welst felt a bit embarrassed just saying those words. He hid his face, but it was a bit red under the hood's shadow. "I-I guess I can trust him _a little_ bit. It doesn't change the fact that I still hate his guts!"

Itsuki let out another amused chuckle as Welst quickly left before he could become anymore flustered. It left himself alone as he unconsciously trailed himself towards the window, opening it for some fresh air. Even if what Welst said was unpleasant, it made him wonder what the state of this world had been if justice was failing him.

This world said that it was okay to have demi-humans as slaves and would overlook cruel acts by nobles.

This world said it was okay that a Cardinal Hero would be condemned for a crime he couldn't have done out of simply knowing his personality. This world said it was okay for a Cardinal Hero to be executed, if that even had been true, and another to be attacked by the same religion that worshipped them.

He didn't understand the type of justice would permit this to happen.

If this was Kojeel's sense of justice, he hated it. It was flawed and it allowed evil to pass and go as it pleased. He knew that in this flawed system, he himself needed to be the judge and the punishment, but he needed to hear the truth itself before he could act.

But if confronting and accusing him meant that he was to be deemed a criminal somehow…

'_No, that has to be a scare tactic by Welst. There's no way something like that could make me a criminal._'

Itsuki wondered if there was a way to convince Kojeel to allow him to leave the capital and meet with the king and his advisor. If not, perhaps there was a way to convince Welst and Mald to let him go.

But he was a bit confused with himself.

He had doubt about meeting them, pursuing this justice and this truth.

Both Naofumi and Ren had been arrested and both seen as criminals, but when that tag had been directed onto him, there was fear. Knowing that heroes were not invincible to the name, he didn't really realize what it meant until the target had locked on his head.

He wanted to help, but he was scared.

Ever since he was little, he wanted to be a hero. To have this chance, only to throw it away, it only left him frozen in his thoughts.

He simply dipped his head out the window, trying to get fresh air. Perhaps Welst was right and he needed to get some sleep. Despite the sun still being up high, he decided to take a nap, draping the blanket and pillows onto the ground and closing his eyes.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

An armoured man had walked into the forest, hidden by the denseness of the trees around him. His suit had been strong, enough to easily take on any of the monsters, hiding in the area. Through the shadows and trunks, he noticed a figure standing behind one of the trees and quickly approached it, but he knew it wasn't a monster.

It was another man, younger and smaller than him, but he could tell that he wasn't someone to mess around. With a dark cloak to blend in with the surroundings and a mask that hid the person's identity, staring at him was enough to send shivers on the spine, doubting on whether or not he was going to kill him.

"What is it that you wanted?" the masked man asked coldly. "If it was a report, you should have probably asked for one of the Church's shadows if so. I'm no messenger."

"You've been the one clearing the area of shadows, have you not?" the big man said with some snark, twirling his mustache. "Allies and foes alike, you've been eliminating them without discrimination."

"They all look the same to me."

"That, I can agree with, but that leaves me with no messenger to send my report."

The masked man turned away and grunted. "Then out with it."

"I believe Sister Altara should know that the Bow Demon is going to be isolated in Riyute Village for the next few days while his undercover knight is leaving towards the capital. She leaves tomorrow morning, much quicker than expected." There was a smug smirk added underneath the mustache. "We can't have any witnesses to alter the story, after all."

If the masked man had to be honest, he would probably be ordered to to take care of the knight anyways, but if he didn't have the direct command, he couldn't really be damned enough to do it ahead of time. Besides, if it was the knight that was going off by herself, then she would have been isolating herself to whatever fate had in store for her, making it much easier for him.

"Then I suppose that I'll go tell her." The masked man sighed and started walking away, unsheathing his dagger out from his sleeve. "Anything else you want to say?"

"That the Shield Demon somehow lived," he said with great displeasure. "I heard that he managed to defeat the monster we sent out into the mineshaft for him and the one that was supposed to be watching over to ensure he dies didn't exactly report back."

The masked man turned his head over his shoulder.

"Huh. You don't say."

"But this is a good way to wrap up loose ends, wouldn't you agree? Let's have the stories of the Shield Demon and the Bow Demon end here."

Continuing his departure, the dagger started to emit smoke to cover the masked man's body.

He didn't necessarily like to interact with people, especially if they were obviously too narrow-minded, but he supposed that was what he was signing up for when he decided to enlist himself as a free-lancer for the Church. They were all too concerned with the immediate results for their religion without thinking about the greater picture. Even the pope, the position regarded as the highest seat in their organization, did not question why this mysterious masked man decided to lend his help.

Though, that only made it easier for him.

"By the way, what about that mage that's with the Bow Hero? Seems like he'll be a bit troublesome, considering what the plan is. He must be dealt with by the end of this."

The mustached man laughed, holding onto his armoured suit.

"Don't worry about him. I'll easily take care of that useless mage. I have a bone to pick with him anyways and it'll be fun taking him down."

"Is that right? Then I'll leave you to that."

Something told him that with that attitude, he was going to find some difficulty in doing so, but that wasn't his own problem. If his brain wasn't able to have the capacity of being careful, it wasn't worth the trouble.

Without another word, the smoke completely devoured the masked man and as it collapsed to the ground, he was no longer able to be seen. The mustached man, on the other hand, turned back to Riyute Village, in preparations for what would result tomorrow.

He'd show 'Sir Itsuki' what happens when he sympathizes with demi-humans slaves and the Shield Hero.

If that fake hero called it justice, then it was up to the Church to call it a sin and give the people a reason to know that.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

I previously mentioned that I didn't want to give the Two-Headed Dog Shield to Naofumi, but I decided against that feeling and allowed him to pick it up. It adds a bit more to the arsenal, but I have a whole other reason for allowing Naofumi to get it. And it doesn't even involve the Two-Headed Dog Shield at all.

Man, I love how things just somehow work out inexplicably, allowing a good opportunity that couldn't be passed down.

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|—(  
SKIT 046 : Naofumi's Cooking Skills**

[Raphtalia] : "Master Naofumi's food is truly amazing! It might not be efficient to have him cook all the time, but I would love to have his meals for special occasions or one-in-a-while!"

[Itsuki] : "Yeah, his food is out of this world! Even in a new world with different, unknown ingredients at his disposal, he still manages to somehow create a wonderful dish. It's even better than what meals I had back at the royal castle!"

[Naofumi] : "You two are really playing up my cooking, aren't you? In my eyes, the ramen hadn't been exactly perfect yet. It was more of a test run to see how the ingredients would mash up together, but I have a better idea how to make Melromarcian Ramen now."

[Itsuki] : "Your ability to cook is something amazing, Naofumi. It feels like you're cheating the system, almost. I remember you once went to a restaurant with us and we expressed how good the food was, so you decided to just literally make the meals the next day. You didn't even have the recipe and you still nail the taste!"

[Naofumi] : "It's just practice. It's nothing special. I had to cook for myself when I was younger, but I ended up liking it as a hobby. It was simply overtime that I developed more skills pertaining to tasting and making. It's not particularly crazy, you know. There are chefs that can do that across the world."

[Raphtalia] : "The people in your world sound amazing, Master Naofumi. Did your parents help teach you?"

[Naofumi] : "They… uhm…"

[Raphtalia] : "Why are you looking the other way?"

[Naofumi] : "They thought I was a lost cause and completely neglected me in favour of my younger brother. When they found out that my cooking was actually good, _they ended up using me to make high-end restaurant meals for the family._"

[Itsuki] : "_Ouch_. At least we don't abuse you like that."

[Naofumi] : "W-When you phrase it in such a way, I'm not sure if that's supposed to be a compliment."

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**

* * *

**)**—**(\IV/)|—(  
SKIT 047 : Itsuki's Shooting Skills**

[Naofumi] : "Raphtalia, I'm going to try and bait the bats down here!"

[Raphtalia] : "I'm ready to attack!"

[Naofumi] : "It's coming!"

[Raphtalia] : "Hah! O-Oh no, I missed! I'll get it next time!"

[Naofumi] : "It's fine. I feel like these bat monsters are getting quicker by the day."

[Welst] : "..."

[Itsuki] : "..."

[Welst] : "Sir Itsuki?"

[Itsuki] : "Yeah, I know. I'm firing an arrow right now. And..."

[Raphtalia] : "Ah! It got hit out of the air!"

[Naofumi] : "Itsuki, you're amazing! You got that to land, even when it was flying about so quickly!"

[Welst] : "Sir Itsuki rarely misses his arrows. If it's not blocked or parried, I have confidence in betting on his shots landing."

[Itsuki] : "Yeah. Turns out I'm pretty good with a bow! I should have joined the archery club at my school if I knew about it. Not that I was able to due to my job, but still, it's the thought that's fun."

[Welst] : "Though, I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of those arrows…"

**)**—**(\IV/)|**—**(**


End file.
